Cheered on by almost 5000 vocal supporters, packed into a space meant for less than 3000, on their feet all through, the Indian women dished out their best performance in the competition so far to register a comprehensive 3-0 against China and go on top of the table of the Asian Champions Trophy here on Saturday. With four wins in as many games, India is the only unbeaten team here at the moment and is assured of a semifinal spot. It was a display of attacking hockey and tight defending, with India earning its first two penalty corners 40 seconds into the game.
Although they didn’t result in a goal – India had to wait till the 32nd minute for a Sangita Kumari smash to open the scoring – it showed the host’s intent against the Olympic silver medalist side. Before the India clash, China barely allowed its opponent to have sight of the goal, conceding just one to Japan. Not surprisingly, this was expected to be India’s toughest test, and the girls passed with flying colours.
In the 4th minute, Sharmila Devi’s pass was deflected into the circle with the slightest of touches by Sunelita Toppo, only for Deepika to hit straight to the goalkeeper in a one-on-one situation. Lalremsiami, who had been in middling form so far, was a changed player, running down the flanks, both feeding and taking shots at the goal. Penalty corners in the 21st and 26th minutes were saved by goalkeeper Ting Li, but with India’s constant pressure, it was only a matter of time before the deadlo.
