-Nausheen Naz, Shruti Kumari and Kiran Ekka Score as India Continue Impressive Start to Campaign

NEW DELHI, May 31 (H.S.): The Indian Under-18 Women’s Hockey Team continued its impressive run in the Women’s U-18 Asia Cup with a convincing 3-1 victory over Korea in its second Pool A match on Sunday at Kakamigahara, Japan.

Nausheen Naz, Shruti Kumari, and Kiran Ekka were on target for India, while Gyeongmin Ryu scored the lone goal for Korea.

India made an excellent start to the contest and earned a penalty stroke in the opening quarter. Nausheen successfully converted the opportunity in the fourth minute to hand India an early 1-0 lead.

The Indian side maintained its attacking momentum and doubled the advantage in the second quarter. In the 21st minute, Shruti Kumari found the back of the net with a fine field goal, extending India’s lead to 2-0.

After the halftime break, Korea attempted to stage a comeback and reduced the deficit in the third quarter. Gyeongmin Ryu scored in the 41st minute to make it 2-1 and inject fresh hope into the Korean camp.

However, India responded swiftly and restored its two-goal cushion just two minutes later. Kiran Ekka struck in the 43rd minute to make the score 3-1, helping India reassert its dominance over the match.

In the final quarter, the Indian team displayed composure and defensive discipline, preventing Korea from creating any further scoring opportunities and comfortably preserving its lead until the final whistle.

The victory marks India’s second successive win in the tournament after its opening triumph over Malaysia, strengthening its position in Pool A.

Having secured victories against both Malaysia and Korea in their opening two matches, the Indian team will next face Singapore women's national field hockey team in its final Pool A fixture on June 2 as it looks to continue its unbeaten run and advance further in the competition.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar