Auckland, Jun 16: India defeated Japan 2-1 in their second Pool A match of the FIH Hockey Women's Nations Cup New Zealand 2026 on Tuesday at the North Harbour National Hockey Centre in Auckland to secure a spot in the semi-finals, having won both their pool games so far.

Captain and 'Player of the Match' Salima Tete (33') and Lalremsiami (49') netted the goals for India, while Hiramitsu Ai (35') was the lone goalscorer for Japan. It was a memorable game for midfielder Jyoti, who marked her 100th senior international appearance.

The first half was extremely tight, with both sides creating chances but none could break the deadlock till halftime.

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The game opened up in the third quarter as India scored first in the 33rd minute through a nicely executed penalty corner variation. Navneet Kaur's strike was deflected perfectly to Salima by Nikki Pradhan, and the skipper slotted it into the goal to give India the lead.

Japan promptly replied two minutes later, as Hiramitsu (35') converted from a penalty corner to score the equaliser.

With all to play for in the final quarter, India's Lalremsiami found the winning goal in the 49th minute. Sushila Chanu Pukhrambam played an incisive pass from the edge of the circle towards the goal and found Lalremsiami, who deflected the ball into the net to help India emerge victorious.

The win took unbeaten India to the top of Pool A with six points from wins against USA and Japan.

India will next face Uruguay in their last Pool A match of the tournament on June 18, while Japan and the USA will face off for the second semi-final spot from Pool A.

(IANS)