Deepika, India continue to dazzle

Defending champions India stormed into the semifinals of the Women’s Asian Champions Trophy with an unbeaten record, defeating Japan 3-0 here on Sunday.

Continuing her stellar form, star striker Deepika netted a quickfire brace from penalty corners in the final quarter to seal the victory, following vice-captain Navneet Kaur’s opener in the 37th minute.

With this win, India topped the league stage with a maximum of 15 points from five matches, ahead of Olympic silver medallists China (12 points).

India will take on fourth-placed Japan in the semifinal on Tuesday, while China will play third-placed Malaysia in the other last-four game.

Deepika, the tournament’s leading scorer, now boasts 10 goals, including four field goals, five penalty corners, and one penalty stroke, underscoring her dominance.

In the day’s other matches, Malaysia beat Thailand 2-0, while China defeated South Korea by an identical margin.

The Indians secured their first scoring chance in the form of back-to-back penalty corners in the eighth minute, but Deepika’s flick from the second effort was brilliantly saved by Japanese goalkeeper Yu Kudo.