Olympics Qualifiers: India hammer Italy 5-1 to set up semis face-off against Germany

PTI

Ranchi, January 16

Udita Duhan capped her milestone 100th international appearance with a double strike that took India closer to sealing a Paris ticket after the hosts thrashed Italy 5-1 to enter the semifinals of the FIH Olympic Qualifier here today.

Udita (1st minute, 55th), Deepika (41st), Salima Tete (45th) and Navneet Kaur (53rd) were the goal-scorers for India. Italy got a consolation goal just at the stroke of the final hooter when Camila Machin converted a penalty corner.

India finished second in Pool B with two wins from three games, while USA finished on top with an all-win record. USA beat New Zealand 1-0 earlier today, with Elizabeth Yeager converting a penalty corner in the 17th minute. After six straight appearances, including fourth-place finishes in 2012 and 2016, New Zealand will miss the Olympics for only the third time since making their debut in 1980.

India will take on Pool A toppers Germany, while USA will be up against Japan in the semifinals on Thursday. The top three teams will qualify for the Paris Olympics.

It was yet another good show by the Indians as they controlled the flow of the match from start to finish. Udita was rock solid at the back, while Neha Goyal and Salima controlled the proceedings in the midfield. India played high-press, attacking hockey from the onset. Just like their previous match, the hosts took the lead in the first minute.

“We have learnt from every match,” India’s chief coach Janneke Schopman said.

“In the first match, we didn’t really play well. Our second game was really good and we were in control. This game again was a bit difficult, we struggled a little bit,” she added. “The learning from here is that we actually fought ourselves back into this game and started dominating. Italy are a difficult side to play, they are very skillfull, play hard. So lot’s of learnings,” she added.

Earlier, Sonja Zimmermann recorded a hat-trick while Jette Fleschutz and Charlotte Stapenhorst netted a brace each as Germany routed Czech Republic 10-0 in their final pool game.

Japan scored a goal each in the first two quarters to beat Chile 2-0. Kana Urata handed Japan the lead within the first 23 seconds of the game via a field effort before Miyu Hasegawa (23rd) doubled the scoreline by converting a penalty corner.

#Germany