Women's Junior Asia Cup: India became champion, defeated China in penalty shootout

The Indian hockey team won the title for the second consecutive time by defeating China 3-2 in a penalty shootout in the final of the Women's Junior Asia Cup here on Sunday. After a 1-1 draw in the stipulated time, the title match went to a shootout, in which the defending champion team emerged victorious. On this occasion, Hockey India (HI) announced a cash prize for the team. HI wrote on X, Team India won a spectacular victory by winning a thrilling penalty shootout over China in the final of the Junior Women's Asia Cup 2024. Hockey India has announced a cash prize of Rs 2 lakh to each player and Rs 1 lakh to the support staff for their stellar performance. Jinzhuang Tan scored the first goal for China, but Kanika Siwach scored the equaliser for India in the third quarter and the match went into a penalty shootout. India's goalkeeper Nidhi made three crucial saves during the penalty shootout and helped her team win the title. Both teams were in equal positions in the first quarter as they tried to score the opening goal. Both teams had equal possession of the ball and created good chances but failed to score. India got two penalty corners but the Chinese team defended them well and levelled the score.

India started the second quarter on a bright note but could not create any good scoring chances in the shooting circle. Towards the end of the second quarter, China gained the upper hand and put pressure on the Indian backline. With just 14 seconds left on the clock, China got a golden opportunity in the form of a penalty stroke. Jinzhuang Tan stepped up to the occasion and scored past the Indian goalkeeper, giving China a slight lead going into the second half.

India attacked aggressively in the third quarter and dominated the game. Deepika dribbled brilliantly, broke through the Chinese defence and won penalty corners for her team.

Deepika attempted drag flicks towards the goal which were saved multiple times by the Chinese goalkeeper. Moments later in the 41st minute, Sunita Toppo and Deepika moved the ball forward with some excellent passes and found Kanika Siwach inside the shooting circle, who scored a beautiful field goal to level the scores. Entering the fourth quarter, the score was 1-1.

The final fifteen minutes of the game saw both teams going for the winning goal. India got a penalty corner with ten minutes left but the opportunity was wasted as Deepika's shot missed by a whisker. China lost a similar penalty corner shortly after. Both teams gave it their all on the field but could not be separated in the four quarters played and the final went into a penalty shootout.

Sakshi Rana, Ishika and Sunita Toppo scored for India in the penalty shootout. Goalkeeper Nidhi made three brilliant saves against Lihong Wang, Jingyi Li and Dandan Zuo to ensure India retained their title.