Drag-flicker Gurjit Kaur was the star once again as India beat Japan in the summit clash of the FIH Series Finals to capture the gold medal in Hiroshima on Sunday.
India, the top ranked team of the tournament, completed a 3-1 victory over the hosts in a final which saw Japan score a lucky goal while India scored all three goals by converting the penalty corners.
By virtue of making it to the final, India have also qualified for the Tokyo Olympic Qualifiers 2019. India had defeated Chile in the semi-final.
India opened the scoring in the third minute when captain Rani Rampal converted a penalty corner. But a goal in the 11th minute for Japan by Kanon Mori cancelled India’s lead and the two teams went to half-time tied 1-1.
It took India 42 minutes to find the back of the net again as Gurjit came up with a powerful drag to convert the penalty corner and give India 2-1 lead in the 45th minute.
Japan decided to play without the goalkeeper for the final three minutes of the game. They conceded a penalty corner in the final minute and had to pay the price as Gurjit easily put it past the line of defenders.
Chile defeated Russia 3-1 in penalty shootout to claim the bronze medal. Rani was adjudged the best player of the tournament while Gurjit emerged the top-scorer.
A comfortable win
Leading from the front, captain Rani found the net as early as third minute but Japan’s Mori equalised in the first quarter. Gurjit scored in the 45th and 60th minutes to lead India to an emphatic victory.
The Indian skipper struck the ball sweetly along the ground, beating the Japanese goalkeeper Akio Tanaka on her right side to give India a 1-0 advantage. India’s dominance saw them win their second penalty corner in the ninth minute, but the team gave a foul away in the execution. Japan were unable to create opportunities for themselves as they could only manage two circle entries in the entire first 15 minutes.
But, when they did enter the circle on the second occasion, the Japanese forward-line combined to score an equalizer from their very first shot at goal. It was Sakurako Omoto who picked up the ball at the 25-yard line, and played in a pass on the right flank to Yuri Nagai on the baseline, who then played a pass across goal which was successfully deflected by Kanon Mori onto the Indian Goalkeeper Savita, who could not react in time and conceded the goal.
The second quarter also saw India maintain possession which saw forward Vandana Katariya miss a good opportunity in the 18th minute as she picked up a loose clearance from just outside the striking circle, and ran into it to take a strike, but her shot went just wide of the post across goal.
Japan, on the other hand, also started to get into their rhythm, and tried to create chances by using the flanks, but India’s defensive cohesion made sure that they did not concede again, controlling possession well. The likes of Sushila Chanu Pukhrambam and Lilima Minz stepped up to help break Japanese attacks, and rotated the ball comfortably to create opportunities for India.
However, a better performance by the Japanese defense in the final few minutes of the second quarter meant that both the teams went into the half-time break level at 1-1.
India stepped up their attacking flair again in the opening minutes of the third quarter winning two penalty corners but could not convert them into a second goal. Both the teams tried to look to take the important lead, with Japan making two circle entries and getting two shots away, while India made 8 entries and took 5 shots.
However, the last of those 5 shots was the one which gave India the lead as constant pressure on the Japanese in the latter stages of the third quarter saw India win another penalty corner through captain Rani. Then, Gurjit was India’s saviour yet again as she dispatched the ball into the top left corner of the Japanese goal to give her side a 2-1 lead in the 45th minute.
India managed the fourth quarter well as they maintained possession in the initial minutes with Navneet Kaur and Rani having opportunities to seal the victory with a third goal but their efforts were kept out by the Japanese Goalkeeper.
But on the other side of the field, India defended well from penalty corners to avoid conceding an equaliser. With just five minutes remaining in the match, Japan decided to take off their goalkeeper for an extra outfield player. However, it also worked against them in the last minute of the match as Gurjit scored her second goal of the match through a penalty corner to make it 3-1 and wrap up the victory for India.