RAJGIR, Nov 12: India secured a thrilling 3-2 win over South Korea in the Women’s Asian Champions Trophy 2024, extending their unbeaten run in the tournament. The match, played on Tuesday, saw India show great resilience despite a challenging second half.
Under the captaincy of Salima Tete, India took an early 2-0 lead in the first half with goals from Sangita Kumari and Deepika. The Indian team appeared on course for a comfortable victory, but South Korea mounted a strong comeback in the third quarter. The Koreans capitalized on India’s defensive mistakes, with captain Yuri Lee scoring a penalty stroke to level the score at 2-2, making for a tense final quarter.
In the closing moments, India ramped up their pressure and were awarded a penalty stroke when Navneet Kaur was fouled inside the circle. Deepika calmly converted the penalty, shooting into the bottom left corner to give India a 3-2 lead with less than three minutes remaining.
South Korea had one final opportunity to level the score, but a last-second pass from Kim missed its mark, allowing India to hold on to their lead and claim the victory. Deepika was named Player of the Match for her crucial performance.
With two wins from two matches, India has firmly positioned themselves as strong contenders in the tournament. India will play Thailand in their next match on Thursday.
The top four teams out of six – China, India, South Korea, Japan, Malaysia and Thailand – will progress to the semi-finals of the Asian Champions Trophy hockey tournament.
