Women’s Junior Asia Cup 2023 hockey: India beat Japan 1-0 to make final; qualify for junior World Cup

The Indian hockey team beat Japan 1-0 to make the final of the Women’s Junior Asia Cup 2023 in Kakamigahara, Japan, on Saturday.

Sunelita Toppo (46') scored the only goal of the semi-final match.

The victory means that the Indian team will compete in the Women’s Junior Asia Cup final for the second time, having previously reached the summit clash in 2012.

The win also saw India qualify for the FIH Junior Hockey Women's World Cup 2023, which will be held in Santiago, Chile, from November 29 to December 10.

India went on the offensive right away and put Japan under pressure. However, the hosts stood firm to prevent India from taking an early lead. Japan also won a couple of penalty corners but failed to capitalise on them as the first quarter ended goalless.

The second quarter was as intense as the first with India and Japan attacking relentlessly to break the deadlock. However, neither India nor Japan were able to score in the second quarter as both sides went into the half-time break with the scores reading 0-0.

The third quarter witnessed Japan go on the attack to keep India on the backfoot. The Indian team, meanwhile, won a penalty stroke but failed to find the back of the net with it as the two sides were tied at 0-0 by the end of the third quarter.

The fourth quarter saw India dominate the game and find the all-important goal. Sunelita Toppo scored a field goal to give the Indian team a 1-0 lead. With the scoreline in their favour, India focused on maintaining possession to deny Japan from scoring the equaliser and eked out a narrow 1-0 win.

The Indian junior women's hockey team will play against the winner of the other semi-final match between the People’s Republic of China and the Republic Korea in the final of the Women's Junior Asia Cup 2023 on Sunday.