With remarkably diverse matches and results in search of qualifying to the top of this competition in each of the Groups.
UZBEKISTAN 0 VS MALAYSIA 12 (POOL A)
In the first Pool A match of the day, Uzbekistan and Malaysia played against each other, looking to position themselves in the standings for the final stages.
The Malaysian women’s team pulverized Uzbekistan 12-0 in Group A of the Junior Asia Cup (JAC) in Kakamigahara, Japan, today, and are just one match away from qualifying for the semi-finals.
After a day’s rest, the Malaysian women will meet South Korea, and need a win to play in the knockout stage.
The JAC is a women’s Junior World Cup qualifier, and the three medalists will make the cut.
Starting with a first minute field goal by Dian Nursyakira Najwa, eleven more were scored by Kirandeep Kaur (10th, 25th), Khairunnisa Ayuni (11th), Dian Nursyakira (22nd), Zati Alyani Zubir (27th, 27th, 30th), Norshafiqha Ishak (42nd, 53rd), Nur Shamine Azureen (50th) and Dian Nursyakira Najwa (52nd).
Coach Lailin Abu Hassan’s team had beaten Taiwan 7-0 and lost narrowly to tournament favorites India 2-1.
South Korea and India played to a 2-2 draw yesterday. India next play Taiwan while South Korea meet Malaysia to decide the last four.
“The Uzbekistan match gave us an avenue to test out some new variations and get ready for the final Group A match against South Korea.
“We have one day to rest and heal our players’-tired muscles before we play in a match that will decide our future in this tournament.
“Korea held India to a 2-2 draw, and so Malaysia will have to play much better than they did in the 2-1 loss to India to qualify for the semi-finals.” said Lailin.
The best player of the match was MUHAMAD Zati.
Special appreciation prize to Goalkeeper of Uzbekistan IBRAGIMOVA Afruzabonu.
KOREA 2 VS INDIA 2 (POOL A)
The Indian hockey team came from two goals down to secure a 2-2 draw against the Republic of Korea in the Women’s Junior Asia Cup 2023 in Kakamigahara, Japan, on Tuesday.
Yujin Lee (15′) and Jiyon Choi (30′) gave Korea the lead while Deepika Soreng (43′) and Deepika (54′) scored the goals for India. The draw helped India maintain their position at the top of Pool A in the Women’s Junior Asia Cup.
On Monday, India rallied to beat Malaysia 2-1 for their second victory in the competition. They had beaten Uzbekistan 22-0 in their opener.
Korea controlled most of the possession and dominated India in the first quarter. The Indian backline stayed resolute and defended a couple of penalty corners in numbers. However, Korea took the lead in the 15th minute through Yujin Lee’s field goal.
Korea entered the second quarter with an assertive approach and played a pressing game to dominate India. India’s counter-attacking game put Korea under pressure, but Korea doubled their lead in the final minute of the first half after Jiyon Choi converted a penalty corner.
The third quarter began with Korea on the front foot. They won an early penalty corner, which India’s goalkeeper Aditi Maheshwari saved to prevent Korea from extending their lead.
Indian forwards continued to evaluate the Korean backline. The positive approach paid off when Deepika Soreng scored a field goal in the 43rd minute.
India’s goal forced Korea to commit numbers in defense. Despite Korea keeping more possession, India kept pressing forward and earned a penalty stroke in the 54th minute, which was converted by Deepika with ease.
Confident after getting back in the game, the Indian team increased the frequency of their attacks, but no more goals were scored in the final quarter as the game ended in a 2-2 draw.
The Indian junior women’s hockey team will next play against Chinese Taipei in its fourth and last Pool A game on Thursday. While Malaysia will play Korea.
The best player of the match was Rutaja Dadaso Pisal.
The top two teams from Pool A and Pool B will qualify for the semi-finals while the remaining teams will play classification matches.
INDONESIA 0 VS KAZAKHSTAN 6 (POOL B)
The last third match of the day was between Indonesia and Kazakhstan for Pool B. The team coached by BEIBITOV Nurzhan wanted to show that they are fighting for the second place, and they went for everything.
On the other hand, the team led by PRIBADI Yanuar tried to set up their game, but the blue and blue team was imposed from the first moment, scoring their first goal after 10 minutes of play by LOBANOVA Viktoriya. The same player scored three more goals during the match and helped her team get the much-desired three points.
The other two goals for Kazakhstan were scored by BEISENBAY Balzhan and LYAPINA Viktoriya.
The girls in red were unable to score any goals but managed to defend their goal in the best viable way to prevent them from scoring more goals.
With the 6-0 final score, the Kazakh team will play against Japan to define the second place in Pool B, while Indonesia completed its four matches today and waits for its next opponent in the match for the 9-10th place.
The best player of the match was LOBANOVA Viktoriya who scored four goals in today’s match.
JAPAN 0 VS CHINA 1 (POOL B)
In the last match of the day, the second game of Pool B was played in a great match between Japan and China.
The match that both teams were waiting for as it would help to define the first and second place between these two teams.
It was a very physical match with a lot of back and forth. Both coaches had planned blocking and offensive tactics that would complicate their opponents. The first and only goal of the match came after eight minutes of play, scored by HUANG Siting.
The home side could not manage to convert inside the Chinese circle, just as China could not convert in the Japanese circle.
The match had a lot of action, but we could only see one goal in this great show.
China took the victory and took the first place waiting for their next match against Hong Kong China. While the host of the tournament remains in second place in Pool B and will face Kazakhstan who has been following them closely and define who will finally take the second place.
The best player of the match was HUANG Siting who scored the only goal of the match and who gave the victory to the yellow team.
by Asia Hockey
