India loses to China in Women’s Hockey Asia Cup final, fails to clinch direct qualification for World Cup

India fell to a 1-4 defeat against China in the Women’s Hockey Asia Cup 2025 final on Sunday at the Gongshu Canal Sports Park Stadium in China.

With this loss, India failed to clinch direct qualification for next year’s World Cup. Winners of continental competitions bag a berth in the tournament and with this title, China has booked its spot.

It was Navneet Kaur who put India ahead in just the first minute through a penalty corner after two back-to-back penalty corners were thwarted by the host. But China levelled the score 20 minutes later through Ou Zixia’s strike through a penalty corner.

At the half-time break, India kept China’s attacks at bay and maintained the scoreline at 1-1.

However, Li Hong gave China the lead in the final for the first time with a thunderous shot from distance and opened the floodgates for the host.

After Hong’s goal in the third quarter, Zou Meirong and Zhong Jiaqi piled on India’s misery and found the back of the goal in the final quarter to clinch its third Asia Cup title.

Published on Sep 14, 2025