Hangzhou, 5th October 2023: The Indian Women’s Hockey Team suffered a 0-4 loss against China in the 1st Semi-Final of the 19th Asian Games Hangzhou 2022. Despite creating multiple chances, India were not able to get on the scoresheet, while China netted four goals through Jiaqi Zhong (25’), Meirong Zou (40’), Meiyu Liang (55’), and Bingfeng GU (60’).
The match kicked off with China swiftly infiltrating deep into India’s territory, immediately challenging India’s defense. This early offensive move resulted in China earning the first Penalty Corner of the game, but India’s Captain and goalkeeper, Savita, came up with a crucial save to prevent China from taking the lead. Simultaneously, the Indian team attempted to take command of the game by applying pressure on China and executing rapid passes. Nonetheless, China continued to display their attacking prowess, maintaining pressure on India, who defended admirably to keep China at bay.
The second quarter commenced on the same note with China attacking rigorously which earned them an early penalty corner, but once again Savita came to India’s rescue with a good save. However, China were finally able to break the deadlock by capitalising on a penalty corner, which saw the shot by Jiaqi Zhong (25’) get deflected off Nikki Pradhan’s foot before crossing the goal-line.
With the scoreline in their favour, China continued to dominate India and entered halftime with a 1-0 lead.
Desperate to find an equaliser, India upped the ante in the third quarter, but China continued to dominate the proceedings by testing India’s defence at regular intervals and it paid off when Meirong Zou (40’) scored through a penalty corner to extend her side’s lead. With the scoreline against them, India increased their attacking frequency and also won consecutive penalty corners but weren’t able to capitalise on them as Deep Grace Ekka’s shot inside the goal was deemed dangerous. The penultimate quarter ended with China leading 2-0.
In their pursuit of bouncing back in the game, India attacked relentlessly in the fourth and final quarter of the game, but it was China that once again found the back of the net, and this time through counter-attacking as Meiyu Liang (55’), penetrated India’s defence line at left flank and scored off rebound despite Nikki Pradhan’s attempt to save the ball. China then went on to score one more goal in the dying minutes as Bingfeng GU (60’) converted a penalty corner to ensure a 4-0 win for her team.
With this victory, China made it to the Final of the tournament, while India will next play against either Korea or Japan in the Bronze medal match on Saturday, 7th October 2023 at 1330hrs IST.
The match will be broadcast live on Sony Sports Network and live stream on Sony Liv.
HOCKEY INDIA TEAM PARTNERS
Odisha (India’s Best Kept Secret) – Major Team Partner
Sports Authority of India (SAI)
Shiv Naresh
About HOCKEY INDIA
HOCKEY INDIA (HI) is the governing body with exclusive mandate to direct and conduct all activities for both men and women’s hockey in India. It is recognized by the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports, Govt. of India as the sole body responsible towards promoting Hockey in India.
Headquartered in New Delhi, Hockey India was established on 20th May, 2009 and is affiliated to the International Hockey Federation (FIH), the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) and Asian Hockey Federation (AHF).
Committed to the development of Hockey in the country, Hockey India with the assistance of Sports Authority of India and Department of Sports, Government of India, trains players at sub-junior, junior and senior level. The governing body engages in Coaching the coaches with International Standard certification programs, educates and equips technical officials and umpires to find a foothold in international arena, provides world-class infrastructure and International exposure for the players besides regular international competition. Hockey India has also pioneered in bringing top International hockey events to India such as the FIH Men’s World Cup in 2010 and 2018, FIH Champions Trophy in 2014, FIH Junior Men’s World Cup in 2016 and 2021, FIH Hockey World League Final in 2017. With its vision to popularize the game and constantly promote it, Hockey India brought the Indian Men’s Hockey Team into the top three in the world. Hockey India is also dedicated to getting the Indian Women’s Hockey Team into the top three in the world.
About ODISHA
Odisha – the Eastern State of India – is known for its love for Hockey and over the years it has evolved to be the Global Hub of Hockey. The State successfully hosted the Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup Bhubaneswar 2018, followed by the FIH Men’s Series Finals Bhubaneswar Odisha, FIH Olympic Qualifiers Odisha, and FIH Hockey Pro League 2020-21. Odisha has previously hosted the Champions Trophy 2014 and the Odisha Men’s Hockey World League Final Bhubaneswar 2017. Odisha also hosted the FIH Men’s Hockey Junior World Cup in 2021.
Kalinga Lancers, the team owned by the State, were the winners in the Hockey India League 2017. Taking a step further towards realising the dream of restoring the glory of Indian Hockey at the global level, the State is sponsoring the Indian Hockey Teams till 2033.
Odisha also hosted the FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup 2023.
