This was Japan’s second Asian Games gold, having previously claimed the laurels in Guangzhou, China, in 2010.

China dominated the game throughout, especially their forwards, Li Ying and Wang Shansan, who made a nuisance of themselves in Japan’s half.

However, all of their efforts came to naught as most of their shots were saved by Japan goalkeeper Ayaka Yamashita.

The first half ended goalless.

In the second half, China’s attacks, which were made up of a combination of long passes and shift drills, continued unabated.

However, Japan forward Yuika Sugawasa broke the deadlock when she headed the winner in the 90th minute and China had to settle for silver.

Meanwhile, South Korea won bronze after beating Chinese Taipei 4-0 in their match played earlier on Friday.