The Indian Under-18 women's hockey team suffered a heartbreaking loss to China in the semifinals of the Under-18 Asian Championships, eliminating them from gold medal contention. The match ended in a 2-2 draw after four quarters, with Nousheen Naz and Kiran Ekka scoring for India, while Li ZeYan and Zhang Yuzheng found the net for China.
India made a strong start, securing the opening goal in the third minute, but China equalised in the 24th minute. The match remained tied at 1-1 until the final quarter, when China took the lead, only for India to equalise again.
China eventually emerged victorious in the penalty shootout, defeating India 3-1 courtesy of some brilliant saves by their goalkeeper Liu Xue. The Indians will now compete for the bronze medal against the loser of the Japan-Korea semifinal on Saturday.
