HULUNBUIR, September 13 — India were crowned champions of the Women’s Junior Asia Cup 2026 on Sunday, defeating hosts China 1–0 in the Gold Medal Match to close out ten days of junior international hockey in Hulunbuir City, in China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. The final was closely contested, with both sides battling for control before India found the decisive goal and held firm. India’s No. 42, MANE Sanika Chandrakant, was named Player of the Match and finished the tournament with seven goals.
India’s path through the Elite Pool produced emphatic results — an 11–1 win over Malaysia and a 7–0 defeat of Japan — before a goalless draw with China. In the knockout stage they beat Pakistan 19–0 in Quarter Final 1 and Korea 5–1 in the semi-final.
China, playing in front of home supporters, recorded pool-stage wins of 6–1 over Malaysia, 4–1 over Japan and 3–0 over Korea, then defeated Kazakhstan 4–0 in the quarter-final and Japan 6–0 in the semi-final before losing the final 1–0. Japan reached the podium by beating Korea 2–0 in the Bronze Medal Match on the final day, having earlier secured a semi-final place with a 2–0 quarter-final win over Bangladesh.
Bangladesh had an impressive Challenger Pool campaign with wins of 7–0 over Chinese Taipei, 4–0 over Kazakhstan, 6–0 over Hong Kong China and 5–1 over Pakistan. In the placement matches, Bangladesh beat Malaysia 2–1 for 5th–6th place, Kazakhstan beat Pakistan 2–0 for 7th–8th place, and Chinese Taipei beat Hong Kong China 3–1 for 9th–10th place.
Individually, Bangladesh’s RIMON Sharika and India’s MANE Sanika Chandrakant each finished with seven goals, while India’s Supriya and YADAV Purnima scored six apiece.
Regional significance
The Asian Hockey Federation congratulated India as champions, China on silver and Japan on bronze, and thanked participating teams, athletes, coaches, technical officials and umpires, along with the Chinese Hockey Association, the Local Organising Committee, volunteers, partners and supporters for staging the event in Hulunbuir City. The AHF governs and promotes hockey in Asia in cooperation with 31 Member National Associations.
The tournament was presented as evidence of the depth and growing competitiveness of women’s hockey across Asia and of the AHF’s commitment to developing the sport and creating opportunities for young athletes. What to watch next: how the junior performances translate to senior international competition, and whether the AHF’s development push continues to close the gap among Asia’s emerging hockey nations.
