Women's Asian Hockey 5s World Cup Qualifier: India defeat Malaysia to reach final; qualifies for the World Cup
Indian women's hockey team defeated Malaysia in the semi-final of the Women's Asian Hockey 5s World Cup Qualifier by 9-5 to make it to the final. They also qualify for the Women's Hockey 5s World Cup with this victory.
Malaysia dominated the first five minutes of the game as Malaysia's Muhamad Zati scored twice to go 2-0 up. Zati successfully converted a challenge goal in the fourth minute and scored another goal within the first five minutes of the match.
Indian captain Navjot Kaur reduced the lead by scoring in the seventh minute of the match. Two minutes later, Mariana Kujur converted a challenge goal to make it 2-2. Malaysia's Nazeri Dian scored in the 10th minute to put Malaysia at the top once again.
Navjot Kaur rescued the side and pulled things back for India with a field goal. Mariana Kujur also scored a field goal to put India in the lead for the first time. In the final moments of the first half, in-form Mahima Choudhary found the target, helping India finish the first half at 5-3.
Navjot Kaur completed her hat trick with a field goal in the 17th minute of the match. Aziz Zafirah scored for Malaysia at the beginning of the second half to make it 4-6. After Nazeri Dian scored in the 20th minute, India began their counterattack to make sure they dominated the proceedings. In the final ten minutes of the game, they scored thrice to win by 9-5.
India qualify for the Women's World Cup Hockey 5s
After a dominating performance against Malaysia, India became the second Asian team after the hosts Oman to qualify for the Hockey 5s World Cup.
India are the only unbeaten team in the tournament, finishing the Elite Pool group at the top of the table with three wins. They will take on Thailand in the final of the tournament. Thailand are the third team to qualify for the World Cup from Asia. They defeated Indonesia in the semifinal by 5-2 to make it to the final.
Indonesia and Malaysia will battle for the 3/4th spot in the Women's Asian Hockey 5s World Cup. The winner of the match will be the fourth Asian team to make it to the World Cup.