India pummel Hong Kong by 13-0 in their opening match of Women's Hockey Asia Cup

File photo: Indian women’s hockey team

Beginning their Asia Cup 2013 tournament with a spirited performance, Indian women showed absolutely no mercy in crushing Hong Kong women by 13-0 in their opening match in this Asia Cup tournament. The Indian women kept on scoring goals constantly throughout the match knowing the fact that only a victory in this Asia Cup 2013 tournament will secure their place in the upcoming Women’s Hockey World Cup from 31st May 2014 to 14th June 2014 in The Hague, Netherlands.

This match served as a perfect glucose for the Indian team to boost their confidence and morale ahead of upcoming tough matches against China and the hosts Malaysia.

Seeking the advantage of poor Hong Kong defence, Indian team scored stunning 9 goals in the first half of the game and managed 4 goals in the second half of the easy match.

The star Indian Forward Rani displayed an excellent performance in the game and scored a total of 7 goals in the 70 minute game. She was unstoppable in the first half of the match and scored 6 goals in the (2nd, 6th, 23rd, 24th, 26th and 34th minute). She managed her 7th goal of the match in the 58th minute of the second half.

Apart from Rani, the other Indian forward Vandana Katariya performed as per the expectations and contributed a total of 3 goals in the Indian victory. She scored two goals in the first half (13th and 18th minute) and completed her hat-trick the 39th minute of the second half.

Poonam Rani also scored a goal for India in the 69th minute while defender Joydeep Kaur was successful in adding one more goal to the Indian scorecard in the 70th minute.

In their second match of the group stage, Indian team will be battling against the agile Chinese team on Sunday 22nd September 2013. India, being World No.12 in the FIG rankings, will have to face a tougher challenge against the World No.7 China.

After the brilliant performances from the forwards Rani and Vandana Katariya, expectations will be higher against the mighty Chinese team. The Indian team will be up against the hosts Malaysia in the last match of their group stage on Tuesday 24th September 2013.