China climb back to the top place with a 2-0 victory in their last group stage match against South Korea today (November 17, Sunday) at the Rajgir Hockey Stadium in Bihar. (Match Highlights | More Hockey News)
Both goals for China were scored by Tan Jinzhuang, who later earned the Bihar Player of the Match award for her standout performance.
With this defeat, South Korea faces elimination, finishing fifth on the points table with four points (one win, one draw, three losses) from five games. Thailand is the other team who could not reach the semi-finals as they finished at the bottom winless with one point (one draw).
China started the match strong, earning two penalty corners in the first quarter and converting one through Tan. In contrast, Korea earned only one penalty corner and lost both of their referrals within the first two minutes of the match.
The second and third quarter remained goalles with China at 1-0 lead but they were not lack of chances. Two penalty corners, China made several cicle pentrations.
In the fourth quarter, China earned another penalty corner, which was converted into a goal by the talented Jinzhuang, securing her brace. Throughout the match, China made a total of 25 circle penetrations, earning 5 penalty corners and converting two of them into goals.
Meanwhile, South Korea managed only 11 circle penetrations and earned four penalty corners, but unfortunately, they couldn't capitalize on any of them, resulting in a clean sheet defeat.
The three-time champions, South Korea, head home shockingly after a disappointing campaign. They began the season with a 2-2 draw against Japan but then suffered a 2-3 loss to India. A defeat followed at the hands of Malaysia 1-2, before they earned a 4-0 win against Thailand. However, their hopes were dashed when China handed them a 0-2 loss in Sunday, ending their run in the tournament.
For China, it has been a thrilling journey. They started with a massive 15-0 victory over Thailand, followed by a dominant 5-0 win over Malaysia. The Chinese then edged out Japan 2-1, but their unbeaten streak was broken when India handed them a 3-0 loss. However, China bounced back strongly, securing a 2-0 win over South Korea to finish their group stage campaign on a high.
