India’s campaign at the U18 Women’s Asia Cup 2026 suffered a heartbreaking setback as they went down 1-3 to China in a shootout after a fiercely contested semi-final ended 2-2 in regulation time on Friday.
Having twice fought their way back into the contest, the Indian side displayed remarkable resilience but fell short in the shootout, where China’s goalkeeper Liu Xue emerged as the difference-maker with a series of crucial saves.
Nousheen Naz and Kiran Ekka found the net for India, while Li ZeYan and Zhang Yuzheng scored for China in a pulsating encounter that swung both ways before being decided from the spot.
India made a dream start to the match, taking the lead in just the third minute. Captain Sweety Kujur threaded a precise pass into the circle for Nousheen Naz, who unleashed a powerful backhand effort to beat the goalkeeper and hand India an early advantage.
China were awarded a penalty corner in the 21st minute, but Feng Jiaxin’s dragflick was beautifully saved by Indian goalkeeper Mahak Parihar. Three minutes later, however, China found the equaliser due to a defensive error by India in the 24th minute, which China’s Li ZeYan capitalised on to level the game with a field goal.
In the third quarter, China were awarded a penalty corner in the 34th minute, but the Indian backline showed great resilience to deny them the opportunity to take the lead. China held more of the possession in the following minutes but couldn’t break the deadlock.
In the 43rd minute, India received consecutive penalty corners, but could not breach the Chinese post. Despite multiple chances at both ends, the match remained tied at 1-1 as the teams entered the fourth quarter.
The third minute of the final quarter saw China go ahead through a penalty corner. Although the initial shot was blocked by India’s first rusher, the ball went to China’s Zhang Yuzheng (48′) on the rebound, and she delivered a calm finish to give her side a slim advantage.
However, China’s lead only lasted for a few minutes as India’s Kiran (54′) converted a penalty corner to equalise and it remained 2-2 at full-time, with a shootout to decide the winner.
China defeated India 3-1 in the shootout courtesy of some brilliant saves by their goalkeeper Liu Xue. Lu Tong Tong, Ge Chen and Guo Jiaxin converted their chances in the shootout for China, while Sandeepa Kumari was the only player for India to score in the shootout.
The second women’s semi-final will be played between Japan and Korea. India will take on the loser of that match for the bronze medal on June 6, 2026, at 9:30 am IST.
(With agency inputs)