India's women's hockey team marched into the semifinals of the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on September 25, defeating hosts Japan 3-1 in their fourth Pool B fixture at the Gifu Prefectural Green Stadium in Kakamigahara. It was India's fourth consecutive victory of the tournament, confirming a knockout-stage berth with one pool match still to play.
Captain Salima Tete's side wasted no time imposing themselves. Lalremsiami broke the deadlock in the fifth minute, collecting a deflected pass inside the circle and slotting past Japanese goalkeeper Yu Kudo. India doubled the lead in the closing stages of the second quarter when Ishika Chaudhary capitalised on a saved penalty-corner effort from Navneet Kaur to fire the ball home, sending India into the break 2-0 ahead.
Navneet's scoop, Kobayakawa's reply
The third quarter produced the game's standout moment. Navneet, who had been denied earlier, netted in the 36th minute with a brilliant scoop over the goalkeeper to stretch the lead to 3-0. The young forward had been India's liveliest attacker throughout, repeatedly breaching the Japanese defence.
Japan finally found a response in the final quarter when Shiho Kobayakawa produced a tomahawk from the top of the circle in the 46th minute, beating goalkeeper Savita Punia to reduce the deficit to 3-1. The hosts pressed for a late comeback and created a final penalty corner, but India defended composedly to close out the win. Punia also produced a crucial save earlier in the quarter to keep the two-goal cushion intact.
59 goals, four wins, semifinals sealed
The result takes India to four wins from four Pool B matches. The earlier games were routs — 19-0 against Uzbekistan, 17-1 against Indonesia and 20-1 against Thailand — but Japan provided the first genuine test, forcing India to stay disciplined after the late goal. Across the four matches, India have scored 59 goals and conceded just two.
India complete their Pool B campaign against Singapore on September 27 before turning their attention to the semifinals, where a medal is firmly in sight.
Sources:
Asian Games 2026: India women's hockey team beats Japan to enter semi-finals — Khel Now
khelnow.com
India women's hockey beats Japan 3-1, enters Asian Games semifinals — Nation Press
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Asian Games 2026: India Women's Hockey team March Into Semi-finals — Revsportz
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Captain Salima Tete's side wasted no time imposing themselves. Lalremsiami broke the deadlock in the fifth minute, collecting a deflected pass inside the circle and slotting past Japanese goalkeeper Yu Kudo. India doubled the lead in the closing stages of the second quarter when Ishika Chaudhary capitalised on a saved penalty-corner effort from Navneet Kaur to fire the ball home, sending India into the break 2-0 ahead.
Navneet's scoop, Kobayakawa's reply
The third quarter produced the game's standout moment. Navneet, who had been denied earlier, netted in the 36th minute with a brilliant scoop over the goalkeeper to stretch the lead to 3-0. The young forward had been India's liveliest attacker throughout, repeatedly breaching the Japanese defence.
Japan finally found a response in the final quarter when Shiho Kobayakawa produced a tomahawk from the top of the circle in the 46th minute, beating goalkeeper Savita Punia to reduce the deficit to 3-1. The hosts pressed for a late comeback and created a final penalty corner, but India defended composedly to close out the win. Punia also produced a crucial save earlier in the quarter to keep the two-goal cushion intact.
59 goals, four wins, semifinals sealed
The result takes India to four wins from four Pool B matches. The earlier games were routs — 19-0 against Uzbekistan, 17-1 against Indonesia and 20-1 against Thailand — but Japan provided the first genuine test, forcing India to stay disciplined after the late goal. Across the four matches, India have scored 59 goals and conceded just two.
India complete their Pool B campaign against Singapore on September 27 before turning their attention to the semifinals, where a medal is firmly in sight.
Sources:
Asian Games 2026: India women's hockey team beats Japan to enter semi-finals — Khel Now
Asian Games 2026: India women's hockey team beats Japan to enter semi-finals
India women's hockey beat hosts Japan 3-1 in Pool B at the Asian Games 2026 in Kakamigahara sealing a semi-final spot as Lalremsiami, Navneet Kaur, Ishika score
khelnow.com
India women's hockey beats Japan 3-1, enters Asian Games semifinals
India's women's hockey team are through to the Asian Games semifinals after a composed 3-1 win over hosts Japan in Kakamigahara. Goals from Lalremsiami, Ishika, and a Navneet scoop in the third quarter did the damage, with Salima Tete's side remaining unbeaten in Pool B — and firmly in medal...
www.nationpress.com
Asian Games 2026: India Women’s Hockey team March Into Semi-finals After Beating Japan 3-1 - Sports News Portal | Revsportz
India’s women’s hockey team maintained their unbeaten record at the 2026 Asian Games with a 3-1 victory over Japan, securing their place in the semi-finals. Lalremsiami, Ishika Chaudhary and Navneet Kaur found the net for India, while Shiho Kobayakawa scored Japan’s only goal. Right from the...
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