India beat Japan 3-0 to top league stage in women's Asian Champions Trophy hockey tournament

Rajgir (Bihar): Defending champions India beat Japan 3-0 in their final league match to remain unbeaten and qualify for the semifinals of the women's Asian Champions Trophy hockey tournament here on Sunday. The tournament's highest scorer Deepika (47th, 48th minutes) scored a brace, while vice-captain Navneet Kaur broke the deadlock for India in the 37th minute.

With five wins in as many games, India topped the points table with maximum 15 points ahead of Olympic silver medallists China (12).

India will take on fourth-placed Japan in the semifinal on Tuesday, while China will play third-placed Malaysia in the other last-four game.


In other matches of the day, Malaysia beat Thailand 2-0 while China defeated South Korea by identical margin.