The Indian women won 2-0, continuing from where they had left off and defeating Korea for the second time in as many games to reach the final of the Jharkhand Asian Champions Trophy here on Saturday.
They will now take on Japan in a repeat of the bronze medal match at the Asian Games, seeking only their second title against the defending champion after the Japanese upset reigning Asian Games champion China 2-1 in the other semifinal. China will play Korea for the third spot.
India’s intentions and attempts were clear from the beginning as the host stayed on the attack and had a couple of penalty corners inside the first five minutes but shot wide on both occasions.
A solid team effort in the 11th minute helped India break the deadlock, a goal that was as impressive for its rhythm as its execution.
Salima Tete stole the ball near the Korean 23-yard line, ran through the middle of the field in a straight line like a bullet and passed on to Vandana Katariya on the left.
The latter sent the ball to Navneet in a single, fluid motion, who passed it to an unmarked Salima near the far post. The youngster shot home from an acute angle.
Vaishnavi Phalke, drafted in only two days back as Sonika was ruled out after a collision and possible concussion, shot in a rebound off India’s third penalty corner to double the lead in the 19th minute.
Although India came close a few more times, it could not increase the lead by half-time. Korea, on the other hand, barely had a few half chances.
India continued to push hard after the break, but the Korean defence held on, closed down space and tried to attack on the counter, earning a few PCs; it was, however, unable to convert. Although she would have hoped for more goals for all the hard work on the field, coach Janneke Schopman had expected as much after the previous game and was satisfied with the result.
In the other semifinal, Japan came back from a goal down in the second half to reach its second successive final in the tournament. It was a tight game with neither team controlling it at any point.
China tried to score from open play but was off-target repeatedly while Japan focused on penalty corners — it got 11 to China’s four — and managed to convert twice, both goals coming off rebounds as the Chinese defence failed to clear properly.
In the playoff for the fifth spot, Malaysia earned a PC and the lead in the very first minute and hung on to it till the end against Thailand.
The results: Semifinals: Japan 2 (Kana Urata, Miyu Suzuki) bt China 1 (Tiantian Luo); India 2 (Salima Tete, Vashnavi Phalke) bt Korea 0; 5/6 place: Malaysia 1 (Nurmaizatul Syafi) bt Thailand 0.
