India (Commonwealth) _ At the Rajgir Hockey Stadium on Wednesday, chief coach Harendra Singh, who had told “Everyone will see a new version of the Indian women’s hockey team in Rajgir,” met his goal of winning the tournament—and on his “matrabhoomi”—as India defeated China 1-0 in the final to keep the continental title and earn $10,000 from the Asian Hockey Federation.
Harendra Singh had claimed prior to the Asian Champions Trophy that building a solid foundation, giving players an opportunity after missing out on the Paris Olympics, and aiding in the rebuilding process for Los Angeles 2028 were the goals of his first tournament back in the post.
The difference was once again demonstrated by Deepika Sehrawat, who won Player of the Tournament and highest scorer honors. The hosts won the ACT title for the third time, following Singapore 2016 and Ranchi 2023, when the forward scored her 11th goal of the competition in the first minute after halftime.
India failed to score in the first two quarters for the fourth consecutive game, but they came out with newfound energy to score in the third.
As the game started, both teams fought hard for every square inch of ground, exchanging circle entries without controlling any shots on goal. India put together a string of deft passes in the closing minutes of the first quarter to get past the shooting circle. However, the Chinese defense held firm, closely seeing the forwards and blocking any obvious chances to score.
China took the lead two minutes into the second quarter and won a penalty corner (PC), but Bichu Devi displayed her lightning-fast reflexes by jumping to her right and swatting away Tan Jinzhuang’s close-range attempt. India reacted by obtaining four PCs; however, neither drag-flicker Deepika nor versions of Navneet Kaur or Udita Duhan were successful.
However, India grabbed their sixth PC just seconds into the third quarter. Despite the mis-trap, India made a strong comeback, with Navneet passing to Deepika on the left side of the circle. She maintained composure and executed a reverse shot between them to locate the bottom right corner.
India pushed higher and anchored China in their own half as they looked for a second goal. China started moving the ball along the backline to take control with three minutes remaining in the quarter, but India regained the ball and put Deepika on a counter. A foul just inside the circle earned her a penalty stroke. But Ting Li, to her right, made a spectacular save on her low shot to keep China in the match.
China showed more determination and pushed ahead as the last quarter got underway. Goalie Wu Surong blocked Sushila’s attempt as India retaliated and won a penalty corner. China stepped up their efforts to equalize, but India’s defense remained strong.
The Bihar government declared that each player and Harendra would receive a monetary prize of ₹10 lakh, while the other support staff would receive ₹5 lakh. Each player will receive ₹3 lakh, while each support staff member would receive ₹1.5 lakh, according to Hockey India.
Japan finished third with a 4-1 victory over Malaysia. The coach was correct, though, as the host India defeated Japan 2-0 to get to the championship versus China. In the round-robin round, Japan demonstrated resistance by keeping India at bay until after halftime. This made it clear that the team that won victories in all five round-robin games in the tournament that took place in Rajgir, Bihar, would not be easily defeated.
A solid defense and an even more determined Japanese goalkeeper, Yu Kudo, confronted India. Prior to Navneet Kaur (48th) taking the lead with a penalty kick, Japan goalie Yu Kudo stopped all Indian attempts for 48 minutes. After a masterful build-up by Sunelita Toppo, Lalremsiami (56th) extended the lead to put the reigning champions in the summit clash, changing the course of the contest.
India used full press and launched assault after attack, much like they had in the earlier games. In a strong display, Kudo, who won Player of the Match, and the Japanese defense stopped 13 penalty corners, seven efforts on goal (none of which were Japan’s), and 23 penetrations of the Japanese hitting circle (17 times more than Japan).
