Li zeyan

U18 Hockey Asia Cup: After an intense and well-fought 2-2 draw over four quarters, India women suffered a 1-3 defeat in a shootout against China in their semifinal of the U18 Asia Cup on Friday. Nousheen Naz (3') and Kiran Ekka (54') scored the goals for India while Li ZeYan (24') and Zhang Yuzheng (48') were the goalscorers for China.

India made a bright start in the first quarter, securing the opening goal in the third minute itself. Captain Sweety Kujur played a brilliant pass from the midfield to Nousheen (3') inside the circle who delivered a strong back-handed shot into the net to give India an early lead. Both sides did well in the midfield to create good opportunities inside the circle but couldn't find another goal in the opening quarter.

China were awarded a penalty corner in the 21st minute but Feng Jiaxin's dragflick was beautifully saved by Indian goalkeeper Mahak Parihar. Three minutes later, however, China found the equaliser due to a defensive error by India in the 24th minute, which China's Li ZeYan capitalised on to level the game with a field goal.