India vs Japan highlights, IND 4-0 JPN, Women’s Asian Champions Trophy final: Vandana, Lalremsiami, Neha, Sangita guide India to title win

Player of the Match: Deep Grace Ekka

Rising star of the match: Sangita Kumari

India cruises to a 4-0 win against Japan to lift the 2023 Women’s Asian Champions Trophy.

One might have thought that the quota of goals were over for the night but Vandana Kataria has other ideas as she puts the ball inside the net for India’s fourth. Tete did well to send the ball to her with a diving pass.

India scores from another penalty corner. Tete plays the role of the injector again. Deepika’s shot at goal is blocked and the ball takes a ricochet. Lalmremsiami is aware and puts the ball inside the net.

Japan had an excellent chance to pull a goal back after getting a penalty stroke. Kana Urata takes the strike and goes for a low-hard shot to Punia’s left, but the India captain guesses right and sticks out her left to save the effort. India still leads 2-0.

A flurry of penalty corners for India and the home team finally capitalises on the third one. Tete plays the role of injector. The ball goes to Deepika, who reverse to Deep Grace Ekka. Ekka dispatches a rocket of a shot and Neha does well to deflect the ball towards the path of the goal.

The fourth and last quarter is underway. India leads Japan 1-0 and if the scoreline remains the same over the next 15 mins, the home team will become champion.

Sangita Kumari’s goal still the difference maker as India has a 1-0 lead against Japan at the end of the third-quarter.

No major goal threats from Japan as we are nearing the end of the third-quarter.

The tempo has gone down a bit and India is enjoying possession quite comfortably. Good movement from the home team.

India’s Navneet Kaur is shown a green card and she has to leave the pitch for two minutes.

CHANCE- India with a chance to score a second early in the second-half. Lalremsiami squares the ball to Sangita, who just had to get a proper touch for her second. However, she cannot from close distance and the chances goes begging. The danger is not gone as Navneet shoots at goal, but skies her effort.

Sangita Kumari’s goal keeps India ahead as the third-quarter begins at the Marang Gomke Jaipal Singh Astroturf Hockey Stadium in Ranchi.

Sangita’s goal keeps India ahead at the break. Japan’s Shiho thought she had the equaliser but it was cancelled after a video referral.

Japan has three successive penalty corners but could not capitalise from either for the equaliser. It got a bit tricky for the Indian defence in the last penalty corner, but Punia was at her top to make a diving save.

Video replay shows that the ball had touched Shiho’s hand as she brought it down, before making that excellent goalscoring run. The goal is not given and the crowd erupts after the decision.

India immediately has gone upstairs, claiming that the ball touched a body part of Shiho on her way to scoring the equaliser. The goal is being reviewed to see if it is legit or not.

Shiho Kobayakawa shows excellent stick work to wriggle past two Indian players before lashing the ball inside the net. That is the equaliser for Japan.

That is some finish from Sangita Kumari. She is positioned well to receive a pass inside the Japan circle. Once she gets the ball, she takes a couple of touches before finding the goal with a diving finish. The local girl gets a huge applause from the crowd.

The second quarter is underway. The match has been quite neck-to-neck right now.

The match is goalless as the first-quarter comes to an end. Yuri Nagai and Deepika with early chances.

Salima Tete makes a darting run from the left and tries to create a chance as she goes for the backhand, but Japan defends well again as her pass is blocked.

India, like usual, has come out all guns blazing but Japan’s defence has shown solid composure till now.

MISS- India with a circle penetration of her own after an attack that started from its own half. Deepika is played the ball and she has all the time and space to shoot. But she delays her shot and in a bid to create a better angle, moves further away from goal and eventually misses the target with her shot.

MISS- India’s defence is caught napping and Japan captain Yuri Nagai gets the ball in an excellent position. All she has to do is poke the ball in from point-blank range but Savita Punia does enough to pressurise her by coming out and Nagai completely fluffs her shot.

The first-quarter of the Women’s Asian Champions Trophy final between India and Japan is underway at the Marang Gomke Jaipal Singh Astroturf Hockey Stadium in Ranchi.

The India vs Japan final is scheduled to begin at 9:15 PM IST, instead of the official mentioned time of 8:30 PM. Reports are that there is a floodlight issue at the venue, which has caused the delay.

The Indian women won 2-0, continuing from where it had left off and defeated Korea for the second time in as many games to reach the final of the Women’s Asian Champions Trophy on Saturday.

It will now take on Japan in a repeat of the bronze medal match at the Asian Games, seeking only its second title against the defending champion after Japan upset reigning Asian Games champion China 2-1 in the other semifinal. China will play Korea for the third spot.

In the other semifinal, Japan came back from being a goal down in the second half to reach its second successive final in the tournament. It was a tight game, with neither team taking complete control at any point. China tried to score from open play but shot wide repeatedly while Japan focused on penalty corners – it got 11 to China’s four – and managed to convert twice, both goals coming on rebounds as the Chinese defence failed to clear cleanly.

In the play-off for the fifth spot, Malaysia got a PC and the lead in the first minute and hung on to it till the end for a 1-0 win against Thailand.

-Uthra Ganesan

Here is a look at the live streaming info for the match:

When will India vs Japan Women’s Asian Champions Trophy 2023 final match be played?

The India vs Japan Women’s Asian Champions Trophy 2023 final will be played on Sunday, November 5.

What time will India vs Japan Women’s Asian Champions Trophy 2023 final match begin?

The India vs Japan Women’s Asian Champions Trophy 2023 final will begin at 8:30 PM IST.

Where can one watch India vs Japan Women’s Asian Champions Trophy 2023 final match?

The India vs Japan Women’s Asian Champions Trophy 2023 final match will be telecast LIVE on Sony Sports Ten 5 SD and HD.

Where to watch live streaming of India vs Japan Women’s Asian Champions Trophy 2023 final match?

The India vs Japan Women’s Asian Champions Trophy 2023 final match will be streamed LIVE on SonyLiv.