Bangkok (4 Oct, 2016): Uzbekistan finally got off the mark in the 4th Women Asian Hockey Federation (AHF) Cup on Tuesday with a 16-nil victory over Indonesia in Bangkok.
The Uzbeks lost their first two Group A matches against Sri Lanka (1-3) and Thailand (1-3) but showed remarkable progress against a low-keyed Indonesian side that has been the target of stronger oppositions in this fourth edition of the women’s tournament.
The Indonesians had suffered heavy defeats against defending champion Chinese Taipei (0-21) and Sri Lanka (0-19) and were left dismantled 0-8 by the end of the first half and could not hold back the Uzbeks who rolled into top gear after the breather.
Zulfiya Hasanboeva started the goal rush with a second minute field goal and came back to strike two more goals – 69th and 70th minutes from a field goal and penalty corner to complete a hat-trick.
But the player of the day award unanimously went to five-goal penalty corner specialist Inoyatkhon Berdieva who sparked life into the game. The Uzbeks wrapped up the rout with more hat-tricks from Sabina Adizova and Shakhio Egamberdieva while Kamila Adizova and Mavlyuda Adambaeva added the finishing touches to a miserable day for the Indonesians.
The Sri Lankans lead Group A on six points with Thailand (6) second, Chinese Taipei third (3 points), Uzbekistan fourth spot (3 points) while the Indonesians are rocked at the bottom.
In Group B, Singapore defeated Hong Kong 2-1 to move up to the top of the group with six points, pushing Pakistan into second place (4 points), Hong Kong third (3 points) and Cambodia at the basement with zero point.
Hong Kong shot into the lead in the 39th minute via Pui Sze Lau field goal but the Singaporeans rolled back into the game with field goals from Chua Xinni and Nur Atiqah in the 42nd and 48th minutes respectively.
Three matches are scheduled on Wednesday (5 Oct) with Uzbekistan down to play Chinese Taipei and Sri Lanka tackles Thailand in Group A encounters while in Group B Hong Kong plays Cambodia.
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