Defending champions India qualified for the semi-finals of the Women’s Asian Champions Trophy 2024 with a comprehensive 3-0 (HT 0-0) win in their last round robin league match against Japan, their fifth in as many games, at the Rajgir Hockey Stadium, Bihar.

The hosts overcame the stubborn defense of the former continental champions in the first half and struck thrice in space of 11 minutes in the second half. Rookie drag flicker Deepika Sherawat (47’, 48’) found the back of the net twice in space of a minute much to the delight of the diehard Indian fans who turned up in large numbers, after experienced forward  and Vice-captain Navneet Kaur (37’) set the tone early on through a stunning field goal.The 21-year forward Deepika in the process further cemented her place as the leading goal scorer in the tourney with 10 goals to her name, five of which came against Thailand.

Salima Tete led Indian side which finished on top of the six team points table without dropping a single point will next take on fourth placed Japan once again, in the semi-final knock-out stage on Tuesday, 19 November. In the other semifinal China will be up against Malaysia.

In their  penultimate round robin league match encounter held last weekend, India had defeated Paris Olympics 2024 Silver medalists China by a similar margin. The heavyweight clash saw Sangita Kumari (32’), Salima Tete (37’), and Deepika Sherawat (60’) finding the back of the net after a goalless first half.

Earlier in the opening match the riding on a brace by Sangita Kumari (8’, 55’) and goal each by  Preeti Dubey (43’), and Udita (44’) had registered a 4-0 victory against Malaysia) and followed it up with a hard fought 3-2 win against Korea.  Sangita Kumari (3’) continued her hot form in front of goal while Deepika Sherawat (20’, 57’) scored a brace to confirm the victory for India. Lee Yuri (34’) and Captain Cheon Eunbi (38’) were the goalscorers for Korea in the closely-fought encounter.

In their third league match the Harendra Singh Coached Indian side scored an emphatic 13-0 win over Thailand. Deepika Sherawat (3’, 19’, 43’, 45’, 45+’) who opened the scoring registered her maiden hat –trick in the tourney, while Preeti Dubey (9’, 40’), Lalremsiami (12’, 56’) and Manisha Chauhan (55’, 58’) scored twice. Beauty Dungdung (30’) and  Navneet Kaur (53’) sounded the board with a goal each to complete the rout.

Ahead of the Semi- Final tie India's Chief Coach Harendra Singh sounded a word of caution against complacency,  while urging his team’s to continue to perform with the same discipline and winning mindset for the rest of the tournament, in their quest to retain the continental trophy.

"We know what are their strengths and weaknesses. For us, this tournament is about working on our strengths and build a formidable style of play for Indian women's hockey team. It's a mixture of attacking and defensive. So far the girls have executed really well. I am satisfied with their decision making but semifinal will be a different ball game. We must guard against complacency, as a single mistake could shatter their dreams of retaining the crown,” said a confident Harendra Singh.

So far in the group stage India (15 points) have scored a staggering 26 goals while conceding only two. Meanwhile, Japan (5 points) have scored six goals while conceding nine.

Going into the business end of the tournament, the only concern for the Chief Coach felt was the lack of action of his goalkeepers Savita Punia and Bichu Devi Karibam have hardly been tested in the tourney, given the fine performance of the defenders led brilliantly by Udita, Sushila Chanu, and Vaishnavi Vitthal Phalke.

Photo Above : Indian players will hope to ensure their supremacy against former champions Japan in their quest to qualify for the Women’s Asian Champions Trophy 2024 final. Earlier in their last league game the host had won 3-0 against the same rivals (Photo courtesy Hockey India)