MELBOURNE: A ruthless Japan thrashed India 11-0 to reach the Women’s Asian Cup quarter-finals thanks to hat-tricks from Hinata Miyazawa and Riko Ueki on Saturday while Taiwan held off a late Vietnam push to secure a 1-0 victory, their first win of the tournament.
Group C leaders Japan, champions in 2014 and 2018, cut through India’s hapless defence with ease while the south Asian side failed to have a single shot in the game that was played predominantly in India’s half at Perth Rectangular Stadium.
Japan overwhelmed India in the first half and were 5-0 up at halftime with a superb curling effort from Yuzuki Yamamoto in the fourth minute, a Yui Hasegawa goal, a brace from Miyazawa and a Kiko Seike penalty.
With a comfortable lead, Japan made three changes at halftime but they did not relent as substitute Riko Ueki scored twice in three minutes before completing an 18-minute hat-trick after Maya Hijikata also got on the scoresheet.
Miyazawa capped off the rout by completing her own hat-trick in the 81st minute, sealing an 11-0 scoreline that highlighted the gulf in class between Asia’s highest-ranked team in the world and their hapless opponents 59 rungs below them.
