Japan beat Indian Women’s Hockey Team by 2-0

Japan beat the Indian Women’s Hockey team 2-0 in the 5/8th place match at the Women’s Hockey World League Semi Final, Johannesburg.

In the first quarter, Japan ensured a tighter defence while their attackers broke the Indian defence to foray into the striking circle. The aggressive approach resulted in Japan winning their first PC of the match in the seventh minute which was successfully converted by Kana Nomura. Japan won two more penalty corners in the 8th and the 10th minutes but India’s Monika and Savita came up with good saves, respectively.

The second quarter saw Indian attackers try different channels to break the Japanese defence but in vain. Another big shot on goal for Japan came when Yuri Nagai cut inside the circle beating defender Gurjit Kaur but Savita came up with yet another noteworthy save.

Japan’s second goal however came through another PC in the 29th minute. It was Naho Ichitani who converted the shot after they came up with a brilliant variation to trick the Indian defenders.

Falling behind by two goals, India looked to make amends in the third quarter. Though Japan won another PC in the 31st minute, Namita Toppo did well as the first runner to block away the attempt. In the 34th minute, Indian goalkeeper Savita made another great save when Naho Ichitani took a shot on goal. Though another PC was awarded following a scramble for ball possession, India evaded the scare to go into the third hooter with 0-2 on the scoreboard.

The final 15 minutes saw India create some strong chances to score. One such opportunity came when Vandana assisted Rani who got a good deflection, though it was saved by goalkeeper, Renuka Yadav took the rebound to push it back into the post to score. Unfortunately for India though, a successful video referral by Japan for back stick disallowed India’s goal.

India won their first PC in the 51st minute but Gurjit Kaur’s fiercely-struck flick was well saved by Japanese goalkeeper. Meanwhile Japan won their 10th penalty corner, but an alert Savita was up to the task to keep them from scoring.

India will play 7th and 8th placing match on July 22.