India defeated China 1-0 in a fiercely contested final held here on Wednesday to win the Women’s Asian Champions Trophy 2024 title. The hosts valiantly preserved their lead to win the championship for the second time in a row, and Deepika’s key backhand goal in the third quarter proved to be the difference.

India has now won the Women’s Asian Champions Trophy three times in a row, making them the competition’s most successful team alongside South Korea. The Indian women’s team won their second title in Ranchi in 2023 after their first success in Singapore in 2016. They now triumphed in Rajgir on Wednesday. India won bronze in 2010 and two silver medals in 2013 and 2018.

Both teams traded blows in the first half of Wednesday’s encounter, but India picked up the pace in the second half, and Deepika’s goal in the 31st minute guaranteed that India would win the Asian Champions Trophy again.

In response to the Indian women’s hockey team’s victory, Hockey India stated that all players would receive ₹3 lakh, and all support staff would receive ₹1.5 lakh.

“A phenomenal accomplishment! Congratulations to our hockey team on winning the Women’s Asian Champions Trophy. They played exceptionally well through the tournament. Their success will motivate many upcoming athletes,” PM Modi posted on X.

For the first time in the competition’s history, the Asian Hockey Federation (AHF) added a prize for podium finishers to this moment. China and Japan will earn USD 7,000 and USD 5,000, respectively, while India will receive a large USD 10,000 cash incentive.

As the game started in the final, both teams fought hard for every square inch of ground, exchanging circle entries without managing to get any shots on goal. For the majority of the quarter, neither team was able to find the last touch in a fierce, end-to-end contest.

India put together a string of deft passes in the last few minutes of the quarter to reach inside the shooting circle. But the Chinese defense held firm, closely lining up the forwards and obstructing any obvious goal scoring opportunities, and the first quarter ended goalless.

Silver medallist China at the Paris Olympic Games got the initiative and scored a penalty corner two minutes into the second quarter, but Bichu Devi showed off her cat-like reflexes by jumping high to save a close-range shot from Jinzhuang Tan.

In the very next minute, India reacted by earning a penalty corner, but Chinese goalkeeper Surong Wu made a fantastic save on Deepika’s drag flick. Despite exchanging another round of penalty corners, neither team was able to score. With neither side prepared to concede an inch, the game remained a fierce, end-to-end struggle. Consequently, the score remained locked at 0-0 at the completion of the first half.

After a missed trap, Navneet passed to Deepika on the left wing of the circle, who made a terrifying reverse shot that struck the bottom right corner of the goal to give India the lead in the second half. This gave India another penalty corner seconds later.

India pushed higher and pinned China back into their own half as they looked for a second goal. China started moving the ball along the backline to take control with three minutes remaining in the quarter, but India regained the ball and put Deepika on a counter. After being fouled, she stepped up to attempt a penalty shot, but Ting Li stopped her low attempt to keep China in the match.

China shown more commitment as the last quarter got underway, moving forward with tenacity. Surong Wu in goal easily kicked away Sushila’s strike, but India swiftly reclaimed control, pushing China back and collecting a penalty corner within two minutes.

After that, China came together and stepped up their efforts to level the playing field, but the Indian defense held firm, essentially blocking all of China’s offensive routes. India ultimately won a grueling 1-0 match thanks to their outstanding defense, which guaranteed them their third Asian Champions Trophy crown.

Japan won the bronze medal in the competition after defeating Malaysia 4-1 in the playoffs after losing to India 2-0 in the semifinals.