Malaysia clawed back from two goals down to hold China to a 2-2 draw in day one of the 4th Women’s Under-18 Asia Cup at the Bangkok Hockey Stadium today.
Yu Anhui opened scoring for China in this Group A encounter with a 15th minute penalty corner goal and Shen Yizu doubled the advantage in the 31st minute via a penalty corner.
The Malaysians, who finished fifth at the last edition of the event in Bangkok, replied through a brace from Qasidah Najwa from field goals in the 40th and 55th minutes.
India, the inaugural 2001 champions and eying to win the trophy for the second time after a 15-year wait, downed Chinese Taipei 4-0. Sangeta Kumari warmed up to the occasion with a hat-trick (37th, 45th and 65th minutes) after Jaya Mallamada Leelavathy fired the Indians to a 1-0 lead early in the game.
In a Group B match, defending champions Japan clawed Singapore 13-0. Shiho Kobayakawa scored four goals; Ayana Tamura nailed a hat-trick, Hina Matoba a brace whilst Rui Takashima, Kurumi Kobayashi, Kaho Tanaka and Kana Urata scored one goal apiece.
The Malaysians and Indians return to the venue on Saturday to face Group A opponents Chinese Taipei and China respectively while Japan takes on Korea.
“Today’s match was good. The girls played well to earn this draw. We have told them to believe in themselves and that they are a good team. They played according to structure and plan,” said Malaysian team head coach K. Gobinathan.
“China and India have been training for the last two years in preparation for the next Junior World Cup. These Malaysian players are very talented and need more training as a team. Despite the short time of training the girls played very well. We need to concentrate on the next game against Chinese Taipei,” he added.
Malaysia, China, India and Chinese Taipei are drawn in Group A while Korea, the 2009 champions when the event was held in Shanghai, China, have for company in Group B Japan, Thailand and Singapore.
The top two teams advance to the Dec 21 semi-finals with the final the following day.
