Kolhapur's Sanika Mane scores winner as India win Junior Asia Cup for third time

There was a moment of silence on the hockey field in China, and then came the golden moment that changed Sanika Chandrakant Mane's life forever. Sanika, who comes from the small village of Nool in Kolhapur district, scored a brilliant field goal in the 17th minute of the Women's Junior Asia Cup 2026 final against China to give India a memorable 1-0 lead. The lead held until the end, and India won the Junior Asia Cup title for the third consecutive time, creating history. Sanika was named Player of the Match for her outstanding performance in the final.

Sanika has hockey in her family background. Her mother Jyoti was herself a former national-level hockey player, her elder sister Krishna has also represented the country in hockey at the national level, while her father Chandrakant is a farmer. Initially Sanika was inclined towards athletics, but later she took up hockey. Her talent was first spotted by coach Aniket More. After that, good training from the Sports Authority of India (SAI) gave her game technical maturity and new confidence. Despite difficult circumstances and limited facilities, Sanika went straight from a village ground to the Indian junior team.

In the 2026 Junior Asia Cup, Sanika proved to be a trump card in India's attacking line. She scored one goal in India's 4-1 win over South Korea, netted two goals in an 11-1 one-sided win over Malaysia, scored one goal against Japan to give India a strong lead, and scored two brilliant goals against Pakistan to maintain India's dominance.

The final against hosts China was a closely fought contest. Both teams fought hard in the first quarter and the match remained goalless. Finally, in the 17th minute of the second quarter, Sanika read a long pass into the circle and, without delay, struck an accurate shot to put the ball in the goal, making the score 1-0. China then launched repeated attacks to equalise, but the Indian defence foiled every attack and preserved the 1-0 lead until the final whistle.

With this win, India have secured their place in the FIH Junior Women's World Cup. As Sanika scored in China, celebrations began in her village of Nool in Kolhapur. As the daughter of a farming family hoisted the Tricolour on the world stage, villagers distributed sweets and burst firecrackers. Praising Sanika's historic achievement, Manoj Bhore, co-vice president of the Maharashtra Olympic Association, co-vice president of Hockey India and senior vice president of Hockey Maharashtra, said, "This achievement of Sanika Mane is very big. Scoring the decisive goal in the final of a major tournament like the Asia Cup and winning the title for India is a matter of pride and honour for Maharashtra hockey."