The Indian women’s hockey team stunned Australia 1-0 to enter their first ever Olympic semifinals in Tokyo. Gurjit Kaur had scored in the second quarter for the winners. Going by rankings, world no 4 Australia, high on confidence, were favourites against the no 10 ranked Indians.
India had finished their Pool A proceedings in the fourth place with six points, riding on back-to-back wins over Ireland and South Africa. After losing their first three matches against Netherlands, Germany and defending champions Great Britain, the Indian women made a brilliant comeback, defeating higher-ranked Ireland 1-0 and overpowering South Africa 4-3 to keep themselves in the hunt. India’s place in the last eight round was secured after Great Britain defeated Ireland 2-0 in the last Pool A match.
The Rani Rampal-led side showed grit and determination to bounce back after three consecutive defeats.
