Women’s Junior Asia Cup 2023: Annu Scores Six As Indian Hockey Team Hammer Uzbekistan 22-0 In Opener

Annu, Vaishnavi Vitthal Phalke, Mumtaz Khan, Sunelita Toppo, Manju Chorsiya, Deepika Soreng and Neelam were on target for India against Uzbekistan in Women's Junior Asia Cup 2023 opener.

New Delhi: The Indian hockey team registered a record-breaking 22-0 win against the Uzbekistan in their first game of the Women’s Junior Asia Cup 2023 in Kakamigahara, Gifu Prefecture, Japan, on Sunday.

India attacked Uzbekistan frequently at the start of the game, which helped the Women in Blue gain an early advantage. Vaishnavi Vitthal Phalke converted a penalty corner, while Mumtaz Khan extended the team’s lead with a field goal shortly after. As the first quarter came to a close, India had a 3-0 advantage thanks to a goal by Annu.

Similar to the first quarter, India continued to control play in the second by maintaining possession of the ball and relentlessly attacking. Sunelita Toppo, Manju Chorsiya, Deepika Soreng, and Annu all scored goals to help India go into halftime with a 10-0 advantage.

A glorious start to our campaign as India convincingly secured a victory against Uzbekistan in the Women’s Junior Asia Cup 2023. #HockeyIndia #IndiaKaGame #AsiaCup2023 pic.twitter.com/4FGK14CXtT

— Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) June 3, 2023

Despite holding a sizable lead, the Indian side continued to dominate the game in the third quarter. Deepika scored a goal off a penalty corner, while Annu added two more goals to help India reach a 13-0 advantage. Mumtaz and Deepika both scored their individual second goals of the game as India played loose hockey and by the end of the third period, the score was 15-0.

Deepika, Mumtaz, and Neelam scored three rapid goals in the fourth quarter to increase India’s lead to 18-0. The Indian team was eager to score more goals. But that wasn’t all; Annu added a goal off a penalty kick for her sixth goal of the game, and Phalke added her second to give India a 20-0 lead.

Deepika scored from a penalty corner a minute later, and Mumtaz Khan added another goal to make the score 22-0 in India’s favour. On June 5, India will play their next game against Malaysia.

(Written By- Utkarsh Rathour)