Women's Asian Champions Trophy 2023: Vandana Katariya scores brace in India beat Malaysia 5-0

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The Indian Women's Hockey Team registered their second consecutive victory at Women's Asian Champions Trophy 2023 campaign in a high-scoring encounter as they defeated Malaysia in their second game of the tournament in Ranchi on Saturday. Vandana Katariya (7', 21'), Sangita Kumari (28'), Lalremsiami (28'), Jyoti (38') were the goalscorers for India.

India began proceedings with intensity, deploying a high press and searching for a breakthrough from the very first minute, while India's resilient defense made circle penetration a challenging task for Malaysia.

Following back-to-back penalty corners, India found their first goal after Ishita's injection led to a goal from Vandana Katariya (7'). With few minutes left in the first quarter, India was awarded yet another penalty corner, but Deep Grace Ekka's drag flick was denied by a brilliant save from Malaysian Goalkeeper Nur Zainal.

The second quarter began with an early opportunity for India, but Vandana Katariya's tomahawk was yet again saved by Nur Zainal. Soon after India earned a penalty corner. Ishita's injection was received by Jyoti before a deft touch from forward Vandana Katariya (21') registered India's second goal of the night to make it 2-0.

In the 27th minute, a promising move by India led Lalremsiami to find Sangita Kumari deep in the circle. A smart finish from Sangita (28') ensured that India would lead 3-0. Less than a minute later, Salima Tete broke away on the right flank to find Lalremsiami (28') who expertly deviated the incisive pass into the back of the net for India's fourth goal.

As the third quarter commenced with India dominating possession, Malaysia tried to penetrate the circle from the right flank, but their efforts were rendered futile by the Indian defenders. The first chance of the quarter fell to Navneet Kaur who took a powerful strike that was only inches away from goal.

India's fifth goal was a product of brilliant link-up play, after a series of short passes, Vandana Katariya found Jyoti's (38') nimble stickwork in the circle, to secure a well-deserved goal.

As the final quarter of the match unfolded, the scoreline remained unchanged. While India's defense was largely untested, the forward line continued to look for opportunities. Navneet Kaur took another powerful shot at goal and was once again unfortunate to miss her target by a small margin.

In the 47th minute, Lalremsiami earned a penalty corner for India, however, Nur Zain pulled off another spectacular save to resist Deep Grace Ekka's shot. With less than ten minutes to go, India was awarded two consecutive penalty corners, but the Indian offence was unable to score another goal. At the full-time mark, India completed a comprehensive 5-0 victory, exhibiting their offensive prowess.

India will next take on China in their third encounter of the tournament on 30th October at 20:30hrs IST