India came off to a far better start, earning back-to-back PCs in the sixth and seventh minutes...
Digital Desk: India defeated Malaysia 5-0 with a much stronger performance in its second match at the Jharkhand Women's Asian Champions Trophy in Ranchi on Saturday.
The Indian team was far more solid and skilled on the field than it was on Friday, and it was evident in their body language as well, even though penalty corner conversions continued to be a drain on the team's total performance. All brought together by the brilliance of ‘Player of the Match' Vandana Katariya, who scored two goals herself and created space and opportunity for more, the Indians were more self-assured, the trapping was impeccable, and the assault had greater purpose.
India came off to a far better start, earning back-to-back PCs in the sixth and seventh minutes, Vandana deflecting in the latter from the left for an early lead. In the twenty-first minute, she scored again in a similar fashion, this time from the right, directly in front of the far post. India led 4-0 with two goals in less than a minute from local favorites Salima Tete and Sangita Kumari, who combined for an incredible third goal.
Malaysia was unable to equalize with the host's speed or break the Indian shackles as it remained defensive in the hopes of creating counterattacking possibilities.
Coach Janneke Schopman said that it "was annoying" that India could only add one more goal to their total in the second half, despite controlling the game, dictating the pace, and collecting several penalty counts. But now that the two lower-ranked teams have been eliminated, India's true test in the competition starts.
In other games, Japan recovered from a listless performance on October 26 for a dominating 4-0 win against Korea while Asian Games champion China rode on a hat-trick by Jiaqi Zhong to register a comprehensive 6-0 victory against Thailand.
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