Indian hockey eves settle for silver: Asian Games

New Delhi, Sep 1 The Indian women's hockey group's brilliant crusade at the eighteenth Asian Games Jakarta-Palembang 2018 arrived at an end on Friday, which saw them lose 1-2 to Japan in an all around challenged Final held here at the Gelora Bung Karno Hockey Field.

The Japanese team secured their victory with two goals from penalty corners, which were scored by Minami Shimizu (11') and Motomi Kawamura (44') while India's solitary objective was scored by Neha Goyal (25'). The misfortune implied that the Indian group anchored a silver medal at the Asian Games out of the blue since 1998, when they had lost to Republic of Korea by a same margin.

Riding high on confidence, the Indian team began the first quarter well as they created a few opportunities, which saw forwards Lalremsiami, Navneet Kaur and captain Rani come close to scoring, yet were denied by a rigid Japanese defence. The Japanese got into the game and had their first real chance in the eighth minute as they forced Indian Goalkeeper Savita to make a spare off Aki Yamada's shot. The tenth moment saw India win their first PC of the match as Navneet Kaur pushed the ball onto a Japanese defender's foot.

It was Gurjit Kaur who executed the drag-flick, driving Japan's Megumi Kageyama to make a save on her left side to deny the Indians. Notwithstanding, Japan likewise won their first punishment corner in the following moment and struck the first blow as Minami Shimizu converted the chance to give Japan the lead.

The World No. 14 Japanese team looked comfortable on the ball towards the start of the second quarter and made a few interceptions to deny India the chance to join passes together. However, the Indian team was finally successful in finding an equalizer in the 25th minute as Navneet Kaur and Neha Goyal joined in a splendid counter-attacking move to score India's first objective. It was Navneet Kaur who struck a switch shot crosswise over objective from inside the striking circle to find Neha Goyal, who deflected the ball into the back of the net. The staying five minutes in the second period saw a good midfield battle between the two teams but neither teams could lead the pack, which means the scores remained 1-1 at the half-time interval.

The World No. 9 Indian team began the third quarter better as they limited unforced blunders, building pressure on their opponents by keeping the ball better. India had the first chance of the period in the 36th minute as Vandana Katariya and Navjot Kaur consolidated to assault on the counter, but the Japanese defence held firm to clear the ball away. Vandana Katariya took another shot in the following moment but her strike was saved by the Japanese Goalkeeper Kageyama. The Indian team improved their performance in the third time frame as they squeezed their lower-positioned adversaries higher up the field and made key block attempts to deny the Japanese for most part of the duration.

However, with just over a minute remaining in the second from last quarter, Japan were awarded their second penalty corner, which was all around changed over by Motomi Kawamura through a variety to end the second from last quarter with a 2-1 lead.

It was desperate times for the Indian team as they went into the final quarter hoping to create opportunities in the first few minutes but were not able discover a route past the Japanese resistance. While, Japan, then again, attempted to remain in front and deal with the match well as they kept ownership inside India's half to use fundamental seconds. The Indian group thought that it was hard to handle Japan's cautious strategies however hoped to assault inside the last couple of minutes, making an open door in the last minute when Rani and Vandana Katariya found themselves in possession inside Japan's striking circle, but the latter's shot went only wide of the goalpost as Japan saw out the match to enlist a 2-1 win.