Junior Asia Cup: Skipper Rani Rampal scores hat-trick as Indian eves hammer Malaysia to enter semis

Skipper Rani Rampal led from the front and slammed a hat-trick as Indian eves thrashed Malaysia 9-1 in their last league game of the seventh women’s Junior Asia Cup today. By virtue of this win, India has qualified for the semi-final of the tournament. [caption id=“attachment_1563499” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational Image. Reuters[/caption] The Indian eves started on an attacking note and penetrated the Malaysian circle in the early minutes of the game. Preeti Dubey rushed into the Malaysian circle and played a cross ball towards Rani Rampal, who scored the first goal for India in the eighth minute. In the 15th minute, Jaspreet Kaur converted a penalty corner to give India a 2-0 lead. Six minutes from halftime, India tripled their lead through Preeti Dubey’s brilliant goal. Malaysia, however, pulled one back just before the end of the first half with a field strike from the sticks of Mohd Saiuti Norfaiezah. After the change of ends, the Indian girls started from where they left in the first half and attacked relentlessly, which resulted in four goals (37th, 39th, 41st and 42nd minutes) in a short span of six minutes. Hungry for more, Poonam Balra deflected in a running ball from wide angle past Malaysian goalkeeper in the 51st minute to register India’s eighth goal. Jaspreet scored her second goal of the match through another penalty corner conversion in the final minute of the game to round off the tally. India will play their semi-final clash on Saturday. The ongoing tournament is a qualification event for next year’s FIH Junior World Cup (Women). PTI