Indian Women Beat Japan 2-1, Assure Semifinal Berth In Asian Champions Trophy Hockey

02.11.2023 - 20:53 sports.ndtv.com

An in-form India eked out a narrow 2-1 win over Japan to register their fourth straight win and storm into the semifinals of the women's Asian Champions Trophy hockey tournament on Tuesday.

After two goalless quarters, Navneet Kaur (31st minute) and Sangita Kumari (47th) scored for India, while Japan's lone goal came from the stick of Kana Urata (37th).

It was a match between two undefeated sides in the tournament and it lived up to the billing. India had earlier defeated Thailand 7-1 in their opener before getting the better of Malaysia and China 5-0 and 2-1 respectively.

The Japanese too were undefeated coming into the match, having registered wins over Malaysia 3-0, South Korea 4-0 and Thailand 4-0 respectively.

hockey India Women performer bill 1 Semifinal China Japan India Thailand South Korea Malaysia

Returning to action after recovering from a back injury, star India shuttler HS Prannoy emerged as the lone Indian survivor at the Japan Masters, advancing to the second round with a gritty win on Wednesday. The 31-year-old, who played with back pain en route to Asian Games bronze medal in his last outing, outsmarted Lee Cheuk Yiu of Hong Kong 22-20 19-21 21-17 in a 64-minute opening round clash at the Super 500 event. Prannoy made a good start, taking a 11-6 lead at the first mid-game interval. Lee, however, managed to bring claw back at 14-14 but the Indian held his fort despite relentless pressure to eventually seal the opening game by the narrowest of margin. Prannoy took the momentum to the second game, zooming to 14-8 but the world No. 18 from Hong Kong drew parity at 17-17 and this time went the distance with Prannoy falling into a pool of errors.

HS Prannoy Lone Indian Survivor At Japan Masters

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