Kakamigahara [Japan], June 5 (ANI): After an intense and well-fought 2-2 draw over four quarters, the Indian U18 Women's Hockey Team suffered a 1-3 defeat in a shootout against China in their semi-final clash at the U18 Asia Cup 2026 in Kakamigahara, Japan, on Friday.

Nousheen Naz (3') and Kiran Ekka (54') scored the goals for India, while Li ZeYan (24') and Zhang Yuzheng (48') were the goal scorers for China.

India made a bright start in the first quarter, securing the opening goal in the third minute itself. Captain Sweety Kujur played a brilliant pass from the midfield to Nousheen (3') inside the circle, who delivered a strong back-handed shot into the net to give India an early lead. Both sides did well in the midfield to create good opportunities inside the circle but couldn't find another goal in the opening quarter, according to a press release.

China were awarded a penalty corner in the 21st minute, but Feng Jiaxin's dragflick was beautifully saved by Indian goalkeeper Mahak Parihar. Three minutes later, however, China found the equaliser due to a defensive error by India in the 24th minute, which China's Li ZeYan capitalised on to level the game with a field goal. In the third quarter, China were awarded a penalty corner in the 34th minute, but the Indian backline showed great resilience to deny them the opportunity to take the lead. China held more of the possession in the following minutes but couldn't break the deadlock. In the 43rd minute, India received consecutive penalty corners, but could not breach the Chinese post. Despite multiple chances at both ends, the match remained tied at 1-1 as the teams entered the fourth quarter. The third minute of the final quarter saw China go ahead through a penalty corner. Although the initial shot was blocked by India's first rusher, the ball went to China's Zhang Yuzheng (48') on the rebound, and she delivered a calm finish to give her side a slim advantage. However, China's lead only lasted for a few minutes as India's Kiran (54') converted a penalty corner to equalise and it remained 2-2 at full-time, with a shootout to decide the winner. China defeated India 3-1 in the shootout courtesy of some brilliant saves by their goalkeeper Liu Xue. Lu Tong Tong, Ge Chen and Guo Jiaxin converted their chances in the shootout for China, while Sandeepa Kumari was the only player for India to score in the shootout.

The second women's semi-final will be played between Japan and Korea. India will take on the loser of that match for the bronze medal on June 6, 2026, at 9:30 am IST. (ANI)