Suspense Crime Sach Ka Dam
Defending champions India lost 1-2 to three-time winners China in their third match of the Women’s Junior Asia Cup in Muscat on Wednesday. In a repeat of the 2012 final, India dominated the first two quarters by creating chances but could not score. China showed aggression in the third quarter with captain Tan Jinzhuang (32nd) scoring from a penalty stroke and Wang Lihong (42nd) converting a penalty corner to give their team a decisive lead.
Deepika, the tournament’s top goal scorer for India, reduced the margin of defeat with a goal in the 56th minute. China topped Pool A with nine points while India finished second with six points, equal to Malaysia. India will take on Thailand in their fourth and final league match on Thursday. The defending champions had earlier registered impressive wins in their first two matches of the five-team tournament, beating Bangladesh 13-1 and Malaysia 5-0. The semi-finals will be held on Saturday while the final will be held on Sunday. India had won the title by defeating South Korea 2-1 in the previous edition held in Japan.
India had a great start
Two days before this match, India had registered its second consecutive win by defeating Malaysia 5-0 on 9 December with Deepika’s hat-trick. This was India’s third consecutive win over Malaysia in the history of the tournament. The team had earlier registered 9-1 wins in 2015 and 2-1 wins in 2023. At the same time, India had made a great start to its campaign in the Women’s Junior Asia Cup Hockey Tournament by defeating Bangladesh 13-1 in its first match of the tournament on 8 December.
