Junior Asia Cup: India eves lose to China 5-2 in final

India women had to settle the for silver at the 6th Junior Women's Asia Cup hockey championship after losing to China 5-2 in the final.

Indian girls played superbly to lead the Chinese 2-0 after 25 minutes when a 10-minute rain interruption hampered their rhythm.

Deep Grace Ekka scored off a seventh minute penalty stroke while skipper and midfielder Ritu Rani scored a field goal four minutes later. India had the better of the exchanges for another quarter-hour before a spell of rain forced play to be suspended.

Five minutes after play resumed Na Wang scored a field goal to reduce the margin and turn the tide. She scored off a penalty corner two minutes into the second half to restore parity. Weija Hao struck two goals in three minutes from the 43rd minute to give China a 4-2 lead.

Jiaqi Li rounded off the tally in the 48th minute. Though India had done well to beat Japan 2-1 in the semi-final, India played its best hockey in the tournament in the first 25 minutes of the final.

The Indian team has qualified for the Junior Women's World Cup to be held next year.