Asian Games Hockey - Women
	Asian Games Women's Hockey - India's Match Reports Arun Arnaw Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh
India Lose Third Match in a Row

Japan 3 - India 2

As feared, the Indian women completed their round-robin league phase without a single point against their name. India lost its concluding encounter 2-3 to Japan, and head into a rematch with Japan for the bronze medal. The India-Japan record in the Asian Games is as follows:

India scored goals for the first time in this competition, and that was some consolation for India. The Indian forwards initiated some good moves and forced their way often into the opposing half, twice drawing level after being a goal down. The Indians did pose a few problems to the gritty Japanese in the second half, and it was only captain Keika Miura's last minute strike that saved the day for Japan.

Japan took the lead in the 19th minute through a controversial penalty corner conversion by captain Keika Miura. At first, her hit into the goal was disallowed on account of dangerous play by the Korean umpire. However, after consultation with the second umpire, she altered her decision and pointed her fingers towards the center for the goal. Japan led 1-0 at the lemon time.

In the second half, India struck its first goal of the tournament when Suman Bala converted a penalty-corner in the 59th minute to draw India level at 1-1. There was a lot of action in the last 7 minutes of the game, with 3 goals being  scored. Akemi Kato put Japan ahead in the 63rd minute but their lead did not last long. Within two minutes, Indian forward Jyoti Kullu once again tied the game with a spectacular field goal. With time running out, captain Keika Miura scored the game winner for Japan.

India did succeed in spoiling the chances of Japan to make it to the final. Japan were on par with China in goal difference at the beginning of the day. In the penultimate match of the round-robin league, China beat Korea 2-0. Japan thus needed a 2 goal margin over India to dislodge China, but failed to achieve their objective by one goal. Hence India and Japan will meet once again in the bronze medal game, and this time a reversal in the score line cannot be ruled out.

South Korea 5 - India 0

Inconsistency has been the hallmark of Indian hockey in recent years. The performance of the Indian women's hockey team in the ongoing Asian Games depicts it perfectly. India lost to Korea, for the sixth successive time in the Asian Games, to effectively bow out of the title race. The India-Korea record in the Asian Games is as follows:

South Korea won the battle with an emphatic margin of 5 goals to nil. They played superbly and made the encounter completely one-sided. They monopolized the play and dominated the Indian territory most of the time.

South Korea got nine penalty corners in the match while India could get just one. Their first goal came in the 32nd minute of play through Oh Wo Woon off a penalty corner. In the second half, South Korea took a heavy toll of the Indian defenders and netted four more - all brilliantly executed field goals. The scorers were Kim Yoon Mi, Li Mi Seong, and Kim Yung Jung (2).

The way Commonwealth Games champion India have been outplayed by their opponents has put every hockey follower of this country into a fix. The Chinese and Koreans were far superior in ball control, physical fitness, anticipation and tackling. The Indian women's team has played well below expectations, and to the standards they themselves set at Manchester just a few months back. They are the mere shadows of themselves and look a timid lot. They have hardly offered any resistance in both their matches, and have made a quick and unceremonious exit from the title race

In the concluding fixture of four-nation league, India plays Japan on Wednesday. Having been tipped as the weakest team prior to the tournament, Japan created a stir by upstaging China 2-1 in its second league encounter, and is now better placed than China for a place in the final. South Korea has already qualified for the women's final, and the outcome of its last league match with China will not affect its position.

China 2 - India 0

Commonwealth Games champion and Asian Games silver medallist India dashed hopes pinned in them when they went down tamely to China 0-2 in their opening tie. India and China have met 4 times in the Asian Games hockey competition so far, with China winning 3, and India winning only 1. The details are as follows:

Fresh from their Champions Trophy triumph, China gave a good exhibition of compact defence combined with a fluent forward line that earned them 13 penalty corners (3 in the first half, 10 in the second) to underline their superiority in the game.

China drew first blood in the 38th minute when their captain and penalty corner expert Chen Zhao Xia scored with a direct hit off their 4th penalty corner. She added one more in the 68th minute from their 13th and last penalty corner to put an end to India's slim hopes of drawing the game. Manjinder Singh wasted a penalty stroke in the dying moments of play to bring further woe for the Indians.

Though the final score line read 0-2, it would have been much higher if experienced Indian goalkeeper Tingoleima Chanu had not risen to the occasion many a time, thwarting the moves of the nippy Chinese forwards.

The Indian midfielders played miserably, giving away easy chances to the Chinese forwards and not feeding their own front line. The Indian forwards too were not in their elements, and found it difficult to cross even the 25-yard line of the Chinese. Barring a few occasions, which earned India 3 penalty corners and a stroke, it was an all-Chinese affair.

India plays hosts South Korea next on Monday. Having lost the opening match, India has to win the remaining two fixtures to keep alive hopes of reaching the final. India has the ability to bounce back from hopeless situations, as it did in come-from-behind victories against South Africa and England during the Commonwealth Games. Let us hope India comes up with something extra to carve out a victory over defending Asian Games champion South Korea on Monday.