The Indian Women’s Hockey team suffered a shocking 0-2 defeat against japan in their Asian Cup opener but they gathered themselves really well to decimate Singapore 9-1 in a very one-sided display. The win has now propelled the Indian Eves to the semifinals of the tournament and by the virtue of that, they have sealed a spot in the 2022 FIH Women’s Hockey World Cup to be held in Spain & Netherlands.
India’s Gurjit Kaur was the star of the show as she bagged a great hat trick with Manika and Jyothi also bagging important braces. Vandana Katariya and Mariana Kujiur also joined the party with a goal each. Singapore also scored a goal as Li Min Toh scored the only consolation for the Singaporean Women’s team.
India shrugged off the japan defeat and started the match with a lot of intent against Singapore. They showed a lot of structure in attack and also dominated possession in the opening quarter of the game. India broke the deadlock in the 6th minute as Monika came up with a great reverse flick to open the floodgates. India then went on to take a 3-0 lead with Vandana Katariya and Gurjit Kaur finding the net. Kaur converted a penalty corner in the 8th minute. In the next minute, India earned another penalty corner but Deep Grace Ekka’s attempt was kept out by the Singaporean custodian.
Mariana Kujur scored the fourth goal in the 10th minute of the match. Gurjit then again had a penalty corner but her attempt was blocked by the Singaporean defenders.
The second quarter saw more of the same as India bagged a great penalty corner and the veteran Monika made no mistake to bag India’s fifth goal of the game. However, this quarter also saw Singapore making a few moves and also earning a couple of penalty corners.
Gurjit opened the scoring for India in the second half as Singapore pulled one back as the Indian defenders could not keep out Li Min Toh’s attempt from a penalty corner. But India continued at their dominant best with Jyoti also registering her name on the scoresheet. Gurjit scored the eighth goal for India from yet another penalty corner. Gurjit could have added a goal or two more to her tally but she missed her chances. However, Jyoti scored her second to end the match with a 9-1 scoreline.
India will take on South Korea in the semifinals of the Women’s Hockey Asian Cup on the 26th of January.
