Hangzhou: Forward Navneet Kaur scored a lightning-fast goal in the first minute of the match, but India failed to ride the momentum and went down 1-4 to hosts China in the final of the Women’s Asia Cup 2025 here on Sunday.
With this result, India won the silver medal but failed to clinch the all-important direct spot in next year's World Cup as China scored via captain Ou Zixia (21'), Li Hong (40'), Zou Meirong (51'), and Zhong Jiaqi (53').
With this win, China became the eighth team to qualify for the 2026 Women's Hockey World Cup, which will be held August 14–30, 2025, to be played in Wavre, Belgium, and Amstelveen, Netherlands. Belgium and the Netherlands earned direct spots as hosts, while Germany, Argentina, the United States, Spain, New Zealand, and China earned spots through the Continental championships. IANS
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