It was a day which will go down in the history of Indian Women hockey as the team went on to beat the higher seeded FIH ranked team Japan in the classification match of the Hawkes’s Bay Cup. By this win India has been successful in consecutively beating them, the last being the 17th Asian Games wherein both the teams met to play for the Bronze medal finish.
Right into the game Japan made their intent clear by making the initial attack. It reaped benefits just four minutes into the game as a field effort by Mie Nakashima who put the ball into the nets leaving India trailing 0-1. India in the remaining session was seen entering the opponents semi-circle and creating opportunities but all efforts turned futile as Japan held them at bay. The end of first quarter’s play ended in favour of Japan at 1-0.
The second quarter got exciting as both the teams successfully scored a goal each. But this did not help India’s efforts as they were still trailing the game 1-2 at the end of first half. The teams in the session continued looking at the opportunities and stamp their dominance on the game. With good ball possession India maintained the pressure on Japan. But India got a double blow as Japan with a penalty corner did no mistake in finding the nets, coming from the stick of Yukari Yamamoto. India right after Japan’s second goal, increased their tempo of attack and in the 28th minute they found success when they broke the shackles of Japan’s defence and Sushila Pukhrambam slammed the ball past the goalie to open the account for India. End of first half Japan was still leading the game 2-1.
India was seen attempting to equalize the game in the third quarter but were unable to capitalize. India on their part even ensured that they did not allow Japan to score further which would mean the game slipping from their hands. The third session proved to be a dry run and the last fifteen minutes being very important for India as they had to ensure that they score and win the match.
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