India stuns Korea, wins Women’s Jr Hockey Asia Cup

KAKAMIGAHARA (JAPAN): India put up a collective show to stun four-time champion South Korea 2-1 in the final and clinch its maiden Women’s Junior Hockey Asia Cup crown here on Sunday. India finished unbeaten in the tournament and secured a spot in the 2023 Women’s Junior World Cup. In the title decider, Annu and Neelam sounded the board for India while Park Seo Yeon was the lone scorer for Korea. After a barren first quarter and against the run of play, India got going with a 22nd-minute goal by Annu from a penalty corner. Korea took just three minutes to level the score as Park (25th) struck from the right following a brilliant surge. In the 41st minute, India regained a one-goal lead via Neelam, who struck powerfully to the bottom right corner of the Korea goalkeeper. Rewarding the team, Hockey India (HI) announced that each player would receive Rs 2 lakh while every support staff would get Rs 1 lakh.