India Secures Third Title in Women Asian Champions Trophy 2024 Hockey
India, that is Bharat, hosted the current edition of the Women’s Asian Champions Trophy in hockey. The year 2024 saw the tournament run from November 11, 2024, to November 20, 2024, with the finals happening at Rajgir Hockey Stadium in Bihar. India and China were neck-to-neck till the final whistle was blown. It was ultimately the hosts who clinched victory by a margin of 1-0. Deepika scored the only goal in the 31st minute - thereby, becoming the top scorer of the hockey tournament with a tally of 11 nets.
The Indian women's hockey team now jointly dominates the tournament with South Korea having won their titles three times. Interestingly, hosts defended their title from the previous edition held in 2023. Japan was contesting for the crown at that time.
Winners ran to celebrate the victory and rightly so one might assume. The Women's Asian Champions Trophy commenced in 2010. It eventually became one of the most competitive tournaments worldwide with the top 6 Asian teams battling it out for the ultimate title. This is evident because China won the silver medal in the Paris 2024 Olympics but crumbled against India in the Asian hockey tournament.
China’s loss in the 2024 Olympics was against the Netherlands in a penalty round with the final tally of 3-1. The equalized score that forced them to individually take the net was a single each.
Deepika had a chance to score another goal against China. Her penalty shot was bravely saved by Li Ting. This action happened almost a minute later when the lone goal of the match was registered on the board. Deepika, nevertheless, ended the tournament as a top scorer on an occasion when her team added the title for the third time to the list. She was assisted by Navneet Kaur.
Japan defeated Malaysia by 4-1, cementing the third position in the tournament. The team demonstrated its power to make a comeback, potentially setting the track for the next edition well in advance.
Congratulations notes instantly began flowing. This is indeed a noteworthy feat as it has made the team one of the most successful on the list. Japan has won the tournament two times, China has ended as a runner-up three times, and other teams are still working on their strategies to register their names on the list.
India bagged its maiden title in the Asian Champions Trophy in 2016. China was on the losing side at that time too.
Women’s Asian Champions Trophy 2024 had six teams fighting for the final spot, namely India, China, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, and Thailand.
While the Women's Asian Champions Trophy began in 2010, it was only a year later when the men's edition was added to it.
The Indian men's team has won the title five times and Pakistan has won it three times. Both sides, also referred to as arch-rivals, were joint winners in the Men’s Asian Champions Trophy 2018. India is currently the defending champion and is on the streak to win the tournament for the third time.
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