Indian women floor Japan in women’s hockey

Donghae City, South Korea: Young forward Navneet Kaur fired a hat-trick as India began their title defence at the women’s Asian Champions Trophy hockey tournament in an emphatic fashion, registering a 4-1 crushing win over Japan here on Sunday.

Navneet starred in India’s win with goals in the seventh, 25th and 55th minutes. Anupa Barla (53rd) was the other goal scorer for India, who were playing their first match under head coach Sjoerd Marijne’s second stint in charge. India were dominant right from the start as they displayed a well-strategised attack to break the strong Japanese defence at the Sunrise Stadium.