Indian women beat Singapore 7-0 to finish Pool B unbeaten, will face Korea in Asiad semifinal

India's women's hockey team defeated Singapore 7-0 in Kakamigahara on Sunday to complete an unbeaten run in Pool B at the Asian Games and advance to a semifinal against Korea. Sunelita Toppo scored twice as India finished the pool stage with five wins from five matches.

India topped Pool B with five victories from as many games, and goals in the match came from Salima Tete (17th minute), Sunelita Toppo (22nd, 24th), Lalremsiami (26th), Rutuja Dadoso Pisal (29th), Nikki Pradhan (35th) and Deepika (55th). Defending champions and reigning Olympic silver medallist China will play hosts Japan in the other semifinal.

Singapore produced strong resistance in the opening quarter, particularly in penalty-corner defence, denying India eight penalty corners in that period while much of the play remained in the Singapore half. India mounted repeated attacks and earned numerous penalty corners but found the Singapore defence organised and committed.

Two minutes into the second quarter Salima Tete opened the scoring with a field goal. In the 22nd minute Sunelita doubled the lead from a botched penalty-corner attempt and she added a second in the 24th minute, directing in a Deepika flick from a penalty-corner variation. Lalremsiami then deflected in another Deepika flick three minutes later, and Rutuja Dadoso Pisal made it 5-0 shortly afterwards.

India struggled to convert from set pieces despite the volume of opportunities, converting just three from 15 penalty corners earned in the first two quarters. The team continued to win penalty corners in the third quarter but failed to convert direct attempts, and overall had 24 penalty corners in the first three quarters, converting only three — all from variations or a rebound.

Four minutes into the third quarter Nikki Pradhan pushed home a loose ball from another disrupted set piece to make the tally 6-0. Five minutes from the hooter India won back-to-back penalty corners and Deepika scored with a powerful flick to the left of the Singapore goalkeeper in the 55th minute; India had a further set piece a minute later but did not convert.

The Indian women's side now prepare to meet Korea in the Asian Games semifinal scheduled for September 30, the next confirmed fixture in their tournament programme.