Malaysia received a second jolt from China, going down 3-1 in the semifinals of the Bihar Women’s Asian Champions Trophy Rajgir 2024 today (Tuesday – Nov 19).
The Tigress, however, gave an inspiring and strong performance in the showdown, avoiding a clean sweep unlike in the pool match which the Chinese won 5-0.
Following this victory, China advanced to tomorrow’s (Wednesday) final against defending champions India, while the Malaysians will battle it for the bronze medal against Japan. The Malaysians’ best performance in the ACT was winning bronze in 2013 and finishing fourth in 2018.
The Indians defeated Japan 2-0 in the semifinals through Navneet Kaur’s 48th minute penalty stroke strike and Lalremsiami’s 56th minute field goal.
It will be China’s third appearance in the final since the tournament was inaugurated in 2010, and aim to break the ‘duck’ this time after winning silver medals in 2011 and 2016.
Ranked World No 6, China continued its dominance and winning ways against the World No 23-ranked Malaysians, with another round of impressive performances.
National Women’s team head coach, Nasihin Nubli Ibrahim, commended the Tigress for their determination and handwork in this crucial encounter.
“Although we lost to China, I feel satisfied with the way we played today. We had many goal-scoring chances compared to our earlier pool match which we lost 0-5. We were in possession of the ball most times today and frustrated China.
“Credit to all the senior and junior players, especially the youngsters who gave an impressive performance. They showed their ability to rise to the occasion and this augurs well for the team,” he added.
“As for our third-fourth place match, I hope the players give the same kind of energy and commitment for a podium finish.”
Malaysia’s mission to redeem its pride took a setback early when the Chinese, who have been outstanding in penalty corners throughout the tournament, went 3-0 ahead in the first half.
Deng Qiuchan opened the scoring in the 10th minute via a field goal while Fan Yunxia (17th) and Tan Jinzhuang (23rd) converted penalty corners to extend the lead.
The Malaysians broke China’s clean-sheet hopes in the third quarter. After three consecutive penalty corners, Khairunnissa Ayuni Mohd Sharuddin found the back of the net in the 36th minute to reduce the deficit to 1-3.
Despite the defeat, the Malaysians gave a strong performance, making 11 circle penetrations and earning nine penalty corners, though they only converted one. Their penalty corner efficiency was 11.11 percent.
This semi-final marked a major milestone for the Malaysian Tigress after losing 0-4 and 0-5 to India and China in their first two matches. They got back on track with a 2-1 win over South Korea and 2-0 against Thailand. Despite a narrow 2-1 defeat to Japan, the team advanced to the semi-finals, handing shock to three-time champions South Korea.
The Koreans, ranked World No. 15 and the most successful side in competition history, concluded their journey in Bihar with a 3-0 win over Thailand in the fifth-sixth place match.