Final Whistle, Eternal Roar: India Claim Women's ACT Crown Again

Rajgir, Bihar: The Indian women's hockey team fought tooth and nail against Olympic silver medallists China to win the Women's Asian Champions Trophy 2024 here at the Rajgir Hockey Stadium on Wednesday.

India's rising star Deepika turned up with a solitary strike as the Indian team defeated China 1-0 in the final after a gruelling 60 minutes of battle in front of a capacity crowd.

India made a probing start as China attacked from the first whistle, posing serious threats in the first three minutes. However, the Indian team came out unharmed.

Sushila Chanu and Salima Tete intercepted twice to make an attacking move, bringing the crowd to their feet.

China kept attacking and had a perfect chance in the 10th minute but Sharmila Devi snatched the ball away and broke into a counter-attack. India came into scoring positions twice in the quarter but failed to hit the board.

The second quarter was more action-packed as China started with a penalty corner in the 18th minute after the Chinese forward spun around the Indian defence and found a foot in the circle to win the penalty corner.

Lalremsiami rushed forward to thwart the first attempt from China and the follow-up was saved by Indian goalkeeper Bichu Devi.

India turned up the heat in the 19th minute and won the first penalty corner which was deflected behind by the Chinese defence. The penalty corners kept coming in for India but the PC battery failed to capitalize on the chances.

Both teams earned one more penalty corner each but failed to get anything from it. The first half ended with Beauty Dung Dung hitting her shot wide of the goalpost.

As has been the norm throughout the tournament, the Indian team came out strongly in the third quarter and earned a penalty corner in the 31st minute.

The crowd erupted in celebrations as the top scorer of the tournament Deepika went past two defenders and slotted the ball home to give India a 1-0 lead.

The goal gave India the necessary push and the team started making more strides in the Chinese circle. Sangita Kumari was brilliant with her dribbling but the final touch was lacking from the Indian team. 

India was awarded a penalty stroke in the 42nd minute as Deepika was fouled on the edge of the circle by the Chinese defenders after she skipped past them easily.

Amid all the expectations and fanfare, Deepika stepped up to take the penalty stroke but her shot lacked any power and was saved by the Chinese goalkeeper Li Ting much to the disappointment of the Indian fans.

India's problem with trapping the ball from the penalty corner push continued in the final quarter as India wasted another penalty corner.

China started pushing for the equalizer but the Indian defence held on to their fort and kept thwarting the attacks. The Indian forwards created some chances going forward but the Chinese defence was attentive.

As the clock started ticking down, the jam-packed Rajgir Hockey Stadium began celebrating. And once the final hooter came the whole stadium stated chanting, 'India, India'.

This was India's Women's Asian Champions Trophy title and their second consecutive after winning the previous edition in Ranchi.

Rising Indian forward Deepika swept the awards, winning the top goal scorer and Player of the Tournament award. Young Japanese goalkeeper Yu Kudo won the Best Goalkeeper of the Tournament award for her outstanding performance under the three sticks. 

This is also the first-ever title for new coach Harendra Singh who took over the reins of the Indian team earlier this year from Dutch coach Janneke Schopman after India failed to qualify for the Paris Olympics.