Hockey: India lose to China 0-4 in semi-final

Hangzhou: Favourites India endured a forgettable 0-4 drubbing at the hands of China in the women’s hockey semi-finals, a result that not only pushed the team out of the gold medal race but also denied it a direct entry to the Paris Olympics.

Last edition’s silver medallist India, the highest-ranked team in the tournament at world number seven, was no match to world number China, who were the bronze medallist in 2018 in Jakarta.

Jiaqi Zhong (25th minute), Meirong Zou (40th), Meiyu Liang (55th) and Bingfeng

Gu (60th) scored the goals for China. China started on an attacking note put pressure on the Indian defence from the start. The Chinese managed to enter their opponent’s circle on frequent basis but failed to find the back of the net as the Indians defended stoutly.

China’s relentless pressure resulted in back-to-back

penalty corners in the sixth minute but failed to get past India captain Savita in front of the goal.