- Indian eves beat China 4-1 in the Asia Cup hockey tournament in Japan on Monday.
- After thrashing Singapore 10-0, this was India’s second win in the tournament.
- India next take on Malaysia in their last pool match on Tuesday.
Indian eves dished out an all-round performance to stun China 4-1 and register their second consecutive victory at the women's Asia Cup hockey tournament, in Japan on Monday.
Gurjit Kaur (19th minute), Navjot Kaur (32nd), Neha Goyal (49th) and skipper Rani Rampal (58th) scored for India, keeping their winning momentum in Pool A at Kakamigahara Kawasaki Stadium.
India had earlier defeated Singapore 10-0 in their tournament opener.
The Indians were quick to get off the blocks as they won a penalty corner in the first 15 minutes of the match to put China on the backfoot.
The first quarter ended in a stalemate after India wasted the chance.
But four minutes into the second quarter, dragflick specialist Gurjit Kaur converted a splendid goal to give India the lead.
Two minutes after the change of ends, India doubled their through Navjot Kaur's field strike.
But a defensive error in the circle saw India concede a penalty corner in the 38th minute. The Chinese were quick to capitalise on the opportunity and pulled one goal back through Qiuxia Cui's successful conversion.
Down by a goal, China pushed hard in search of the equaliser in the final quarter but failed to break the resolute Indian defence.
The Indians affirmed their dominance when Neha Goyal found the back of the Chinese net with a variation from a set piece to make the scoreline 3-1.
In the last 10 minutes of the match, both the teams traded penalty corners.
While India won two penalty corners and China secured one, both the sides failed to convert.
The action, however, didn't end there as skipper Rani scored a sensational field goal in the 58th minute to secure a commanding 4-1 win for India.
India will next play Malaysia in their last pool match on Tuesday.
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