Buenos Aires (Argentina), 14 October 2018: A convincing performance from the Indian U-18 Women’s Hockey team saw them secure a place in the Final of the Hockey 5s competition at the Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Olympic Games as they defeated China 3-0 in their Semi-Final match held here at the Parque Polideportivo Roca on Saturday. India’s Mumtaz Khan (1′), Reet (5′) and Lalremsiami (13′) were all on target as they secured a Medal by outplaying the Chinese team.
The Semi-Final match saw India dominate right from the start as they put pressure on the Chinese defence by keeping possession. The Indian team were rewarded for their efforts as Mumtaz Khan scored after just 52 seconds to give India a crucial lead. India did not allow their opposition too many chances in the opening period and were happy to keep the possession, creating several chances for themselves from inside and outside the 11-metres area. The 5th minute saw Indian Midfielder Reet attempt a fierce shot from the half-way line, which beat the Chinese Goalkeeper Xinyi Zhu on her right and secured a 2-0 lead for India. China tried to create opportunities in the remaining few minutes but India’s defence made sure that they cleared the danger and took their two-goal advantage into the half-time break.
India dominated the start of the second period as well, finding space in the opposition’s half and creating chances for themselves. In the 13th minute, it was Forward Lalremsiami who was stopped from taking a shot by a Chinese player, which meant that India were awarded a Penalty Challenge. The resulting Challenge was well converted by Lalremsiami as she scored her eighth goal of the competition and gave India a 3-0 lead. India’s Baljeet Kaur and Reet also tested the Chinese defence in the remaining minutes, but could not beat their Goalkeeper as China looked for an opening at the other end of the pitch. Yangyan Gu, Meirong Zou and Anhui Yu all had chances for China but could not keep their shots on target as India secured a convincing Semi-Final win.
The Indian U-18 Women’s team will face hosts Argentina in the Final of the competition on 15th October 2018 at 01.10hrs IST.
The Indian U-18 Men’s team will also vie for a Gold Medal as they play Malaysia in the Final on 14th October 2018 at 23.30hrs IST.
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