Women's Hockey Asia Cup 2025: India launch comeback to secure 2-2 stalemate against Japan

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The Indian Women's Hockey Team showed great resilience as they fought back from a goal down to secure a 2-2 draw against Japan in their second Pool B match at the Women's Asia Cup 2025.

India's goals were scored by Rutuja Dadaso Pisal in the 30th minute and Navneet Kaur in the 60th minute, both equalizers. Japan's goals came from Hiroka Murayama (10') and Chiko Fujibayashi (58'). This result keeps India unbeaten in the tournament, following their 11-0 win against Thailand in the opener.

India started the match on the front foot, pressing hard, but Japan resisted well. Eventually, Japan broke the deadlock when Hiroka Murayama scored in the 10th minute, ending the first quarter with the visitors leading 1-0. After a pause, India increased their efforts to find an equalizer, and Rutuja Dadaso Pisal scored just before halftime to level the score at 1-1.

The second half saw both teams cautiously seeking to avoid mistakes. India pressed to take the lead, but Japan's organized defense stayed solid. The third quarter ended with the score unchanged at 1-1. In the final quarter, both teams intensified their attacks. Japan took the lead again through Chiko Fujibayashi's penalty stroke in the 58th minute. India responded strongly and earned a penalty corner in the last seconds, converting it through Navneet Kaur to level the score at 2-2. Both teams shared points after a hard-fought draw.