The Indian women managed to overcome the disappointment of a pedestrian semifinal performance and upped their game when it mattered most, registering a 1-0 win over China in the final to successfully defend the Asian Champions Trophy at the Rajgir Sports Complex here on Wednesday.
The scoreline may indicate it was a close contest and for the first-half, it was so before the Indians, like in every game, shifted gears in the third quarter and took control.
And while China deserved credit for not making it any easier for India, the host was not troubled much once it went ahead. Deservedly, it was Deepika, who topped the table with 11 goals and was named player-of-the-tournament, who scored the lone goal of the match for India.
Cautious start
Unlike previously, it was a cautious start by India, aware that the Chinese would come hard, come fast and create chances early on. They did and for the first few minutes, India had to fight hard to survive the Chinese onslaught before slowly settling down, getting better at ball control.
A penalty corner for China in the 18th minute saw Lalremsiami — adjudged the player-of-the-match — rush out quickly before Bichhu Devi went full stretch to clear the rebound with her stick.
India’s constant push resulted in four quick penalty corners in the 20th minute but the team’s poor form with penalty corners continued, a mix of off-target shots, ineffective variations and some good saves by the Chinese goalkeeper. China managed a second penalty corner three minutes later but to no avail. But the Indians were slowly growing in the game and within seconds of resumption, in the third quarter, India earned its fifth penalty corner.
The injection was not stopped cleanly but the ball was kept in play, dragged in and then Deepika unleashed a controlled reverse hit that the Chinese defence and goalkeeper had no answer to.
Impressive
The Indian attack was impressive even when it did not result in a goal. Sangita Kumari was a delight with her nippy runs and amazing ball control, repeatedly entering the Chinese circle.
Captain Salima Tete’s speed was unmatched and Vaishnavi Phalke had a busy day on the flanks. And Sunelita Toppo was consistently brilliant in everythign she did, forward and at the back. Even with a wasted penalty stroke — Ting Li had no trouble saving Deepika’s feeble push after the latter had earned it, dodging past three defenders all alone — India stayed on course to victory.
The results: Final: India 1 (Deepika 31) bt China 0.
Third-fourth place play-off: Japan 4 (Mayuri Horikawa 3, Hiroka Murayama 24, Ayana Tamura 28, Miyu Hasegawa 35) bt Malaysia 1 (Azmyra Azhairy 48).