Moqi, Sept. 6 -- The Indian junior women's hockey team began their title defence at the Women's Junior Asia Cup China 2026 on a winning note, defeating South Korea 4-1 in their opening match in Moqi on Saturday, a release said.

The defending champions, who have won the last two editions of the Women's Junior Asia Cup, produced a composed and dominant performance against South Korea, with Sanika Chandrakant Mane, Purnima Yadav, Puja Sahoo and Madhu Sidar finding the back of the net for India.

India started the contest with intent and created several opportunities in the opening quarter. Their efforts were rewarded in the 8th minute when Sanika Chandrakant Mane opened the scoring to give India an early 1-0 lead.

The Indian side continued...