The Women's Hockey Asia Cup is currently underway in Hangzhou, China. In a Super-4 match, the Indian women's hockey team faced a 4-1 defeat against China.
Sports News: The Indian team experienced its first loss in the Super-4 stage of the Women's Hockey Asia Cup 2025. In the match against China, the Indian women's hockey team was defeated 4-1. Only Mumtaz Khan managed to score for India, while the rest of the players were unable to find the back of the net. With this loss, India's unbeaten streak in the tournament was broken.
Chinese Team Showed Aggressive Stance
The Chinese women's hockey team displayed aggressive play right from the start of the match. In the fourth minute, Zhou Meirong scored to give China the lead. Subsequently, in the 31st minute, Chen Yang scored the second goal, extending the team's lead to 2-0. India narrowed the deficit to 2-1 in the 39th minute with a goal from Mumtaz Khan, which briefly revived the team's hopes, but India could not score a second goal.
The Indian team was awarded three penalty corners but failed to capitalize on any of them. The first penalty corner in the tenth minute was thwarted by China's defenders. India created several opportunities in the second quarter but found no success. In the very first minute of the third quarter, China increased the pressure by scoring a third goal. In the final quarter, in the 47th minute, China converted a penalty corner to make the score 4-1. The defeat for the Indian team was attributed to their inability to convert opportunities and some crucial errors.
Previous Performance of the Indian Team
India had been undefeated in the Super-4 prior to this match. In the pool stage, the Indian team defeated Thailand and Singapore, and drew with Japan. India had a b start in the Super-4, winning their first encounter against Korea with a score of 4-2. Despite this loss, the team's performance is considered satisfactory, but the defeat against China has placed the team in a challenging position on their path to the final.
The Indian women's hockey team's next match is against Japan. If India wins this match, the team will secure a spot in the final on September 14. The winner of the Asia Cup 2025 will directly qualify for the 2026 Women's World Cup, which will be held in Belgium and the Netherlands.
