China took its second victory during the women’s hockey tournament at the Asian Games in Doha, Qatar. In Tuesday action, the Chinese team defeated India 3-1. Tournament favorites Japan and Korea had an easy day. Japan, fifth at the latest World Cup, defeated Taipei 12-0. Korea was much too strong for Hong Kong (15-0).
All eyes were on the China-India match on the fourth day of the Asian Games. As the first two teams of the women’s competition will not only reach the final, but also grab a ticket for the 2008 Olympic Games, this crucial clash was extremely important.
China played a steady match and gave India no chance. After leading 1-0 at halftime, China extended its lead to 3-0. India tried to come back and a goal of Surinder Kaur with just more than ten minutes to play brought India back in business. However the Chinese defense remained strong and India wasn’t able to score anymore.
In other Tuesday action, Korea was in great shape against Hong Kong. From the beginning until the end of the match, the Korean players were looking for goals. Two Koreans succeeded to score four goals in this clash. Mi Hyun Park, recently awarded as WorldHockey Young Player of the Year, and Young Song Park both scored four times.
Japan did almost the same as Korea did. The number five of the last Samsung World Cup defeated Taipei 12-0. Kuori Chiba, one of the players selected in the 2006 WorldHockey All Star Team, scored four goals.
After three days of play in the women’s hockey competition at the Asian Games, Korea and Japan are the co-leaders with seven points China, who played one match less than the leaders, is following with six points and is the only team that didn’t lose a point yet.
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