New Delhi: Ace striker Deepika scored the winner in the dying minutes as India registered a sensational 2-1 victory over China in the final to win the 4th Women’s Asian Champions Trophy hockey tournament in Singapore on Saturday.
Player of the day Deepika found the net with a rasping shot after finding the rebound from the penalty corner with just 20 seconds to go for the final hooter.
Deep Grace Ekka put India in the lead via a penalty corner in the 13th minute as India went into a 1-0 lead after the end of the first quarter.
Indian eves played their heart out to maintain their 1-0 lead at the half-time but to their dismay, China came back strongly in the second half to level the score in the third quarter.
Zhong Mengling scored a fine field goal in the 44th minute to make it 1-1. The fourth and final quarter saw some pulsating action from both the teams with India emerging victorious at the end.
India’s best finish in the Women’s Asian Champions Trophy came in the last edition in 2013 when it finished runner-up to Japan. It had finished third in the inaugural edition in 2010.
It’s a double joy for India as they claimed the Asian Champions Trophy in both the men’s and women’s category. Last Sunday, Indian men’s team prevailed 3-2 over arch-rivals Pakistan to reclaim the trophy.
On Friday, India tasted their first defeat of the tournament as they went down fighting 2-3 China in their final league encounter. China topped the table with nine points, pushing India to second spot with seven points, followed by Japan, Korea and Malaysia after the league stage.
(Agencies)
