Women’s Junior Asia Cup Hockey: Nidhi stands tall as India retain title with victory over 3-time champs China

Muscat: India's goalkeeper Nidhi stole the limelight in the penalty shootout, making three sensational saves to help India overcome three-time champions China 3-2 (1-1) and clinch their second consecutive Women's Junior Asia Cup hockey title here on Sunday.

Nidhi's heroics capped off a stellar performance, having already stood tall during regulation time by thwarting multiple attempts from the Chinese forwards as the four quarters ended in a nerve-wracking 1-1 stalemate.

While skipper Jinzhuang Tan scored for China in the 30th minute, Siwach Kanika's strike early in the second half (41st minute) brought India back into the game in an intense battle for supremacy.

Sakshi Rana gave India a perfect start in the shootout by converting the first attempt, while Nidhi denied China’s opener.

China fought back as Hao Guoting equalised, and after misses from Mumtaz Khan and Kanika Siwach, it was Ishika’s top-corner strike that kept India level at 2-2.

Nidhi’s heroics in the final two attempts, blocking shots from Li Jingyi and Zuo Dandan, set the stage for Sunelita Toppo, who sealed the win with a composed finish to seal a memorable victory for India.

The game began with China taking early control, pressing hard against the Indian defense in the opening minutes.

Nidhi made back-to-back saves in the second quarter to keep the scores level after 25 minutes.

Despite India's dominance in possession, their inability to capitalise on penalty corners -- missing two golden chances in the first quarter -- proved costly.

China struck first in dramatic fashion right before half-time.

A penalty stroke was awarded to the Chinese side, and they converted clinically to give them a significant edge going into the break.

India began the second-half with renewed vigour and a sense of urgency as they dominated proceedings in the third quarter and were finally rewarded in the 41st minute.

A penalty corner opportunity saw the ball rebound to an Indian attacker, who slotted it home to level the score at 1-1.

The goal reignited India's hopes and set the stage for a dramatic final quarter.

It was a tense affair, with both India and China pushing for the winner but failing to score the decisive goal.

India had an early opportunity in the 48th minute through a penalty corner but failed to execute effectively, continuing their struggles with set pieces.

Similarly, China squandered their chances, with poor penalty corner conversions leaving them visibly frustrated.

The Indian goalkeeper once again emerged as the standout performer.

In the 56th minute, she thwarted a powerful Chinese attempt raising her left hand, denying them a late winner as the match went into the shootout.