Deepika can be a lethal striker: Coach Singh

IN the women's Asian Champions Trophy's group stage, India have been not just dominant, but they have been able to find their way out of any tricky situations.

- KALYANI MANGALE

Whether it was dominating against Malaysia in the opener or sneaking the goal to break the deadlock against South Korea, India kept finding ways to score goals. Even when they faced the Paris Olympic silver medallists, China, Salima Tete's team came on top. However, now they have to keep all of that behind them when they face Japan in the semi-final in Rajgir.

"Pool games are completely different than knockouts so everyone prepares in the best way possible. We are definitely going to face some restrictions from the Japanese team," India's chief coach Harendra Singh told the media before the knockout game. "They are a good side, but we have to do our homework on how we want to exploit our chances and how we want to play. So far, girls have executed well how we wanted them to grow individually and take the challenge. The semi-finals will be a different ball game," he added.