Women’s Junior Asia Cup 2023 hockey: India fight back to secure 2-2 draw against Korea
Deepika Soreng and Deepika scored the goals for the Indian women’s hockey team. India will play Chinese Taipei in their fourth and last group game on Thursday.
Hockey
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 the majority of 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 test 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 defence. 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.
The top two teams from Pool A and Pool B will qualify for the semi-finals of the continental hockey tournament while the remaining teams will play classification matches.