Women’s Asian Champions Trophy: Deepika stars again as India cruise to semis with 3-0 win over Japan
Rajgir (Bihar), Nov 17: Defending champions India stormed into the semifinals of the Women’s Asian Champions Trophy with an unbeaten record, defeating Japan 3-0 here on Sunday.
Continuing her stellar form, star striker Deepika netted a quickfire brace from penalty corners in the final quarter to seal the victory, following vice-captain Navneet Kaur’s opener in the 37th minute.
With this win, India topped the league stage with maximum 15 points from five matches, ahead of Olympic silver medallists China (12 points).
India will take on fourth-placed Japan in the semifinal on Tuesday, while China will play third-placed Malaysia in the other last-four game.
Deepika, the tournament’s leading scorer, now boasts 10 goals, including four field goals, five penalty corners, and one penalty stroke, underscoring her dominance.
In the day’s other matches, Malaysia beat Thailand 2-0, while China defeated South Korea by an identical margin.
The Indians secured their first scoring chance in the form of back-to-back penalty corners in the eighth minute but Deepika's flick from the second effort was brilliantly saved by Japanese goalkeeper Yu Kudo.
India earned another penalty corner in the 13th minute but yet again wasted the chance.
The Indians continued to dominate and secured their fourth penalty corner in the 25th minute but once again Kudo rose to the occasion and made three brilliant saves to deny the hosts.
A minute after the change of ends, Kudo again came to Japan's rescue to deny Deepika.
India eventually broke the deadlock in the 37th minute through Navneet's brilliant reverse hit to the second post.
Deepika's brilliance
The Indians continued their domination and earned three back-to-back penalty corrners in the 47th minute and star dragflicker Deepika finally found the back of the net with a powerful low dragflick to open her account.
A minute later, the Indians secured another set piece and this time too Deepika struck again with a powerful flick into the top right corner, effectively sealing the match.
Credit must also go to the Indian defence, led brilliantly by Udita and Sushila Chanu, as they didn't let the Japanese take a single shot at the Indian goal.
Skipper Salima Tete, Neha and Sharmila Devi too were brilliant in the midfield, creating numerous chances for the forwardline with their runs and neat dribbling skills.
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62-year-old man killed in wild elephant attack in Somwarpet; villagers demand action
Madikeri: A 62-year-old man was killed in a wild elephant attack in Sangayyapura village, under Ganaguru Gram Panchayat limits in Somwarpet taluk, triggering anger and concern among local residents.
The deceased has been identified as Ponnappa. According to officials, he was heading to his agricultural field for routine work when a wild elephant suddenly attacked him, killing him on the spot.
Following the incident, Assistant Conservator of Forests Gopal, Range Forest Officer Shailendra, Deputy Range Forest Officer Shravana Kumar, and forest staff including Eeranna, Venkatesh, Praveen Kumar, Ranjith and Vedamurthy visited the site. Officers from the Somwarpet Police Station, including the Circle Inspector, were also present. A case has been registered in connection with the elephant attack.
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Local residents expressed resentment over repeated wild elephant incidents in the area, stating that the situation had gone out of control. They urged forest authorities to take immediate and effective steps to prevent further loss of life.
As villagers protested and demanded concrete action, forest department officials assured them that measures such as installing a solar-powered fence would be taken up to reduce human-animal conflict in the region.
