Japan where the match for the 9-10th place and the two long awaited semi-finals of the Women’s Junior Asia Cup 2023 were played. A large crowd was expected at the stadium as the home side would play their semifinal against the mighty India.
UZBEKISTAN 2 VS INDONESIA 0 (9-10th Place)
The match started with a lot of intensity from both national teams, trying to be as offensive as possible, understanding that it was the last match for both teams and neither wanted to occupy the 10th place in the standings.
The goals came in the second and third quarter, both goals were scored by MAMATMURODOVA Marjona to give her team the victory first in the 28th minute and then in the 38th minute of the match.
Indonesia tried to set up their game and although they had chances to score, they could not get past the defense and the goalkeeper in blue.
With this result Uzbekistan takes the ninth place, while Indonesia takes the 10th place making a magnificent presentation in this new edition of the tournament.
The best player of the match was undoubtedly the scorer MAMATMURODOVA Marjona, who retired from this tournament having scored two goals.
INDIA 1 VS JAPAN 0 (Semifinal)
In the second match of the day, the match between the host of the tournament and the powerful team from India was played for a place in the final and a qualification to the FIH Junior Hockey Women’s World Cup 2023.
The Indian hockey team beat Japan 1-0 to make the final of the Women’s Junior Asia Cup 2023 in Kakamigahara, Japan, on Saturday.
Sunelita Toppo (46′) scored the only goal of the semi-final match.
The victory means that the Indian team will compete in the Women’s Junior Asia Cup final for the second time, having previously reached the summit clash in 2012.
The win also saw India qualify for the FIH Junior Hockey Women’s World Cup 2023, which will be held in Santiago, Chile, from November 29 to December 10.
India went on the offensive right away and put Japan under pressure. However, the hosts stood firm to prevent India from taking an early lead. Japan also won a couple of penalty corners but failed to capitalise on them as the first quarter ended goalless.
The second quarter was as intense as the first with India and Japan attacking relentlessly to break the deadlock. However, neither India nor Japan was able to score in the second quarter as both sides went into the half-time break with the scores reading 0-0.
The third quarter witnessed Japan go on the attack to keep India on the backfoot. The Indian team, meanwhile, won a penalty stroke but failed to find the back of the net with it as the two sides were tied at 0-0 by the end of the third quarter.
The fourth quarter saw India dominate the game and find the all-important goal. Sunelita Toppo scored a field goal to give the Indian team a 1-0 lead. With the scoreline in their favor, India focused on maintaining possession to deny Japan from scoring the equalizer and eked out a narrow 1-0 win.
The Indian junior women’s hockey team will play against the winner of the other semi-final match between the People’s Republic of China and the Republic Korea in the final of the Women’s Junior Asia Cup 2023 on Sunday and on the other side Japan will play for the 3/4th Place.
The player of the Match award was for player number 8 of India , Annu.
Another player who received recognition was Japanese goalkeeper SAITO Misaki for her impressive performance in the match.
CHINA 0 VS KOREA 2 (Semifinal)
In the second semi-final a very even match was played with teams incredibly prepared for a semi-final to play for a place in the final and the qualification to the Junior World Cup 2023 in Santiago, Chile.
The match was beneficial from the beginning for the players coached by KIM Seong Eun since after 5 minutes of play they scored the first goal to take an early lead in the match. The goal came from HONG Solbeotnara who scored her first goal of the tournament in the semi-final to put her team into the final.
Korea’s goalkeeper, LEE Seoyeon, had an excellent performance throughout the match and even earned her recognition at the end of the game as player of the match.
In the 18th minute, AN Sujin made the score 2-0 and held the result until the 60th minute when they finally achieved the victory and move to a final of the Women’s Junior Asia Cup 2023 and have a direct ticket to the Junior World Cup to be played at the end of this year.
China will play against Japan for the 3/4th Place.
