October 20, 2022, in Taldykorgan, Kazakhstan. It was known that it was going to be a special day with a lot of nerves for several teams that were waiting for today’s results to know how they would get to the last day of the tournament. It was a day of many nerves, laughter, not so happy faces and a lot of excitement to define what would be the finals and semifinals of this Women’s Junior AHF Cup 2022.
CHINESE TAIPEI 5 VS HONG KONG CHINA 2
The first match of the day would be played between the undisputed first of this tournament Chinese Taipei against another rival that fought throughout the tournament and showed in every game that they are an extraordinarily formidable team, Hong Kong China.
Although Chinese Taipei had already secured their pass to the final, they wanted to show why they reached the final with those numbers and today was not going to be the exception. On their side Hong Kong China won 1 match, drew another and lost 3 with today’s match, however, the team put a lot of energy trying to play the first team of this tournament.
The first goal came after 2 minutes of play converted by LAI Ya-Han from a penalty corner, the second goal of the team in white came 7 minutes later before the end of the first quarter with a goal by WANG Yi-Hsuan, who scored his first goal of the tournament in this match. Hong Kong China came out to the second quarter with all the energy and 2 minutes into the second quarter, LEE Wing Yeung scored a penalty corner goal. A minute later CORDERO Zamara Bibi would tie the game, also converting a penalty corner to make the game vibrate, understanding that they were playing against the absolute leader of this tournament. The tie lasted until the 35th minute when HUANG Yu-Ting made it 3-2 to put her team ahead, her fifth goal of the tournament.
While the girls in blue tried to keep the result, staying organized and going forward, it was in the 42nd minute that WANG Yi-Hsuan made it 4-1 and LAI Ya-Han sealed it 1 minute before the end of the match with another goal.
It was a very tight match at times with a lot of adrenaline as both teams left everything, but CHANG Chun-Hsiu’s team showed once again why they are in the final and why they are the only undefeated team in this tournament.
The girls in white celebrated their pass to the final while Hong Kong China will play for 5/6th Place tomorrow October 20th.
The best player of the match was LAI Ya-Han number 9 who has scored 8 goals in this tournament, and we will see if she can extend this list tomorrow.
INDOENSIA 13 VS TAJIKISTAN 0
The second match of the day was played between Indonesia and Tajikistan. Both teams came to this tournament with specific objectives. Indonesia wanted to reach a possible final but fell halfway and could not achieve that long-awaited second place, while the team led by SOBIROV Sunatullo came to this tournament to play against competitive teams, to have the international exposure that these young girls need to continue growing and forging their character on and off the court. Although the result was very uneven, both the girls in white and yellow put all their effort to give their best and make a superior performance in what would be the ante room to the definitions tomorrow.
The goals for Indonesia were scored by MERSELLA Bernika x 3, MAULANI Salma x 7, WILDIANI Dian x 1, INDIRA Nisa x 1, SULAIMAN Hambia x 1, 7 of these thirteen goals were penalty corners. The extraordinary performance of the number 18 made her deserving of the first prize for the best player of the match and in this I also include that she was the player who scored the most goals in a single match.
Tajikistan will keep the last place playing tomorrow against Hong Kong China to define the 5/6th Place. Regardless of the result, the team led by KHOLPULOTOVA Qizlarbas continues to grow and tomorrow’s game will also serve to measure themselves in defining instances.
On the other hand, Indonesia will play against Uzbekistan to define the 3/4th Place.
KAZAKHSTAN 2 VS UZBEKISTAN 0
Another defining match was between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, although the yellow team had already defined their second place, the blue team would try to be positioned in the best way in the table.
It was a tough and tight match where neither team wanted to give their all in the last match of the tournament.
Both teams had chances to score, it was a back-and-forth game where Kazakhstan was constantly pressing, trying to get into the opponent’s area. In the 12th minute, BERDENOVA Sabina scored the first goal of the match, giving her team a break to take the lead.
At times, the match was quite tight and neither team could play cleanly, but the superiority of BEIBITOV Nurzhan’s team could be seen. It was not until the 22nd minute that number 4, ARUZHAN Bolatbek converted and sealed the 2-0 that would take her team to play a new final in this so well-known tournament for them.
In this way Kazakhstan will play tomorrow October 20th the final against Chinese Taipei, while Uzbekistan will play at 1 pm against Indonesia to define the 3/4th Place.
