Sangita shines for India in U-18 Asia Cup

India produced a clinical performance to beat Chinese Taipei 4-0 at the fourth Women's U-18 Asia Cup hockey tournament in Bangkok on Friday.

India started the game strongly, scoring the opener in the second minute courtesy a superb effort from Leelavathy Mallamada Jaya.

In a spirited first half performance, India kept up consistent pressure on Chinese Taipei. Jaya's movement off the ball helped in creating numerous opportunities and penetrations into the Chinese Taipei circle.

The Indian eves kept creating chances and went into halftime with a 1-0 lead.

Almost in a replay of the way they started the first half, India scored in the 37th minute with the help of Sangita Kumari to wrest control over the game.

Sangita scored her second goal of the game eight minutes later after some brilliant play on the wing from Jaya and the subsequent cutback found her in front of the goal with the simplest of tap-ins. She completed a hat-trick with a successful PC conversion in the 65th minute to give India a comfortable 4-0 victory.

Speaking after the game, Coach Baljeet Singh said, "It was a great performance to get our tournament up and running. It was immensely satisfying to see the intensity of our game today, and from a physical aspect it was a testament to how hard we have worked in the camp. Perhaps our only regret is our inefficiency from PCs, and we will work on that to ensure a better performance in the next match."