India defeated Japan 3-1 to reach the final of the Junior Women’s Asian Cup in Muscat on Saturday, looking to defend their title.
Mumtaz Khan (4 min), Sakshi Rana (5 min) and Deepika (13 min) scored early goals for India to secure victory. Japan’s Niko Maruyama (23 min) scored the only goal for her team, but was unable to return in time to win the tie.
India had a dominant start in the first quarter and scored three goals to gain an early advantage. The first goal was scored after a defensive error by the Japanese defense, which was converted by Mumtaz Khan in the fourth minute. Moments later, Sakshi Rana fired a powerful shot towards the goal from distance and managed to beat the goalkeeper.
Late in the first quarter, Beauty Dungdung was brought down by the Japanese goalkeeper in the shooting circle and India were awarded a penalty. The tournament’s leading scorer, Deepika, came on and scored, giving India a significant early lead.
Japan bounced back in the second quarter and managed to reduce the deficit thanks to a goal by Niko Maruyama in the 23rd minute. Japan did well with their quick attacks and tried to surprise the Indian defense and succeeded once.
In the third quarter, both teams fought bravely, but were unable to score a goal. Japan gradually started dominating the game, but India had the advantage on the scorecard and took full advantage of it.
Japan started the fourth quarter aggressively while India remained on the defensive and defended their goal. In the 48th minute, Japan received a penalty corner which almost went into the Indian goal, but captain Jyoti Singh heroically saved the goal line to keep India in the lead. Japan also received two penalty corners late on, but the Indian defense rose to the occasion and secured a 3-1 victory.
India will face the winner of the second semi-final between China and Korea in the final on Sunday.
