'Grateful to my teammates and coaching staff for believing in me: Udita on Player of the Tournament honour at Women’s Asia Cup

New Delhi, Sep 16 Indian women’s hockey team defender Udita was ecstatic on being adjudged the Player of the Tournament as her team clinched the silver medal at the Women’s Asia Cup 2025. Team India lost the title clash 1-4 against hosts China on Sunday.

Udita played a key role in the team’s campaign throughout the tournament in the absence of India’s regular drag-flicker Deepika, who was sidelined due to an injury. Udita stepped up and took charge of the team’s penalty corners. Amid the added responsibilities, she brilliantly converted three goals while also fulfilling her defensive duties.

On being named the Player of the Tournament, Udita said, “It is a proud moment for me to be named the Player of the Tournament. This recognition is very special because I had missed the Pro League matches in Europe earlier this year, and coming back strongly in such an important tournament was always my target. I am grateful to my teammates and coaching staff for believing in me and supporting me throughout this journey.”

India started on a high note against China, converting a penalty corner into a goal in the first minute, thanks to Navneet Kaur. However, the hosts came back with a strong reply and scored a goal in the second quarter.

China completely dominated the second half and scored three more goals as the Indian side failed to score further. However, India had a campaign to remember, and Udita was all praises while speaking of her team’s performance at the tournament.

“We played some very good hockey as a unit and showed a lot of character in tough matches. Our victories against teams like Korea and Japan gave us great confidence. Unfortunately, the Final didn’t go our way, but this Silver medal is a step forward and gives us the motivation to keep improving as we prepare for bigger challenges ahead,” the defender added.

Further, Udita dedicated her award to the team’s collective effort, saying, "Individual awards are always special, but for me, it reflects the effort of the entire team. Every player contributed, and I am honoured to represent such a hardworking group. We will learn from this experience and come back even stronger."

India remained unbeaten throughout the pool stage and finished with seven points from three games. While they beat Thailand and Singapore 11-0 and 12-0, respectively, they drew their match against Japan 2-2.

Making their way into the Super4s, the Salima Tete-led team defeated Korea 4-2 before losing 1-4 to China. They drew their third game against Japan 1-1 to eventually book themselves a finals berth.

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