India prepares for the challenge against Japan in the 2023 Women’s Junior Asia Cup semifinal
The Indian Junior Women’s Hockey Team defeated Chinese Taipei 11-0 on Thursday at Kakamigahara, Gifu Prefecture, Japan, to clinch a spot in the Women’s Junior Asia Cup 2023 Semi-Finals. India ended the tournament’s group stage unblemished and atop of the Pool A standings thanks to the outstanding win. India is now preparing for their semifinal match against Japan on Saturday. The victor of that match advances to the tournament’s final and is guaranteed a spot in the forthcoming FIH Junior Women’s World Cup 2023.
The FIH Junior Women’s World Cup 2023 will be held in Santiago, Chile from November 29–December 10, 2023, and the top three teams in the Women’s Junior Asia Cup 2023 will automatically qualify for that tournament.
Preeti, the captain, exuded confidence before the match, saying, “As one of the top teams in Asia, it is essential for us to succeed in the Junior Men’s Asia Cup. We want to carry this momentum into the Semi-Finals after our impressive performance so far.
In addition, she said, “the squad will give all in the Semi-Final against Japan since we are only one victory away from qualifying for the FIH Junior Hockey Women’s World Cup 2023.
Notably, the Indian squad demonstrated their superiority throughout the Pool round by going unbeaten. They began their campaign with a convincing 22-0 win against Uzbekistan before defeating Malaysia 2-1. They managed to earn a dramatic 2-2 tie with Korea. With a dominant 11-0 victory against Chinese Taipei to end the group round, they took first place in Pool A.
However, Japan has also shown impressive form throughout the competition, winning significant games over Indonesia (21-0) and Hong Kong China (23-0). Despite losing against China 0-1 they recovered to overcome Kazakhstan 8-0 and earned second place in Pool B.
On June 10 at 09:30 IST, the Indian Junior Women’s Hockey Team will take on Japan in the Women’s Junior Asia Cup 2023 Semi-Final.
