Kakamigahara [Japan], September 27 (ANI): The Gifu region remained overcast and rainy for the second day in a row, as the Indian women’s team overcame a stubborn Singapore defence to register a comfortable 7-0 win for their fifth consecutive victory of Asian Games 2026 on Sunday in Kakamigahara.
Finishing the pool stage as Pool B toppers, India will now face South Korea in the semi-finals on September 30, after the Koreans defeated Malaysia 2-1 earlier in the day to grab the second spot in Pool A. The other semi-final will be played between China and Japan, as per a release.
India’s dominant pool-stage show saw them finish with a gigantic goal difference of +63 with wins over Uzbekistan, Indonesia, Japan, Thailand and Singapore. Their most competitive pool game was against hosts Japan, which ended in a hard-fought 3-1 victory.
Sunelita Toppo’s two goals led India’s tally against Singapore, with other strikes coming from captain Salima Tete, Lalremsiami, Rutuja Dadaso Pisal, Nikki Pradhan and Deepika.
India dominated possession and territory from the opening whistle and earned the first of their 27 penalty corners in the opening minute after Lalremsiami found the foot of a Singapore defender. Deepika’s drag-flick, however, was deflected away. India continued to press and earned another PC in the second minute after a successful video referral, but Singapore’s defence stood firm.
The Singapore team defended in numbers, and goalkeeper Felissa Lai proved difficult to beat.
India continued to create openings, with Ishika combining well with captain Salima in the eighth minute, only for a timely interception to deny the Indian skipper. More than five penalty corners in the opening quarter went unrewarded as Singapore repeatedly frustrated India.
The pressure finally told two minutes into the second quarter. Navneet’s first-time attempt off a cross was saved, but the rebound fell kindly to Salima, who found a gap to put India 1-0 ahead in the 17th minute.
India quickly built momentum. A penalty corner in the 22nd minute resulted in a goalmouth scramble, with Sunelita applying the finishing touch from close range to double the advantage. Two minutes later, Sunelita struck again, deflecting Deepika’s penalty corner flick after making a sharp run towards the near post.
India then made it 4-0 in the 26th minute when Deepika’s flick took a deflection off Lalremsiami’s stick and found the back of the net. Three minutes later, a defensive lapse presented Rutuja with an opportunity, and she calmly lifted the ball past the goalkeeper to make it 5-0.
After a goalless opening quarter, India scored five times in the second to take a commanding lead into half-time.
India added a sixth in the 35th minute. Back-to-back penalty corners were not stopped cleanly, but Baljeet recovered the ball from the second attempt and kept the attack alive. A subsequent goalmouth scramble ended with Nikki Pradhan pushing the ball over the line.
Singapore remained compact and continued to frustrate India through the third quarter. Lalremsiami came close twice in the 40th and 42nd minutes, but the goalkeeper dealt with both attempts. India then earned a succession of penalty corners towards the end of the quarter, yet could not extend their advantage.
The Singapore defence continued to hold firm in the final quarter, keeping India scoreless for the first 10 minutes. Deepika came close from another penalty corner, but her aerial attempt was palmed away.
India eventually found their seventh goal in the 55th minute. After another penalty corner was awarded, Deepika made no mistake this time, finding the corner of the goal with a precise flick to make it 7-0.
Deepika had another opportunity from a PC a minute later but could not add to her tally. Singapore then created their best chance of the match when Qian Xiao Kwek found herself one-on-one against India’s goalkeeper Bichu Devi after a turnover, but her attempt went wide.
The clock then moved to 60 minutes, signalling a comfortable 7-0 victory for India, who now gear up for the semi-final against South Korea on September 30. (ANI)
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