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The Indian women’s hockey team have created history by qualifying for their maiden Olympic quarterfinal. India will meet Australia, the toppers in Pool B, for a spot in the semi-finals.
The Indians were on the brink of elimination but pulled up their socks to beat Ireland and South Africa to secure six points in the group stages. Great Britain’s win over Ireland helped India as they progressed to the knock-outs.
Check Out: Tokyo Olympics 2021 Schedule
Australia have been in full form, winning all five of their group stage matches, and Indian skipper Rani Rampal said they would need a special performance to emerge victorious. Rani said:
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“Competing against a world class team like Australia to get to the semi-finals in the Olympics will require a special performance from the team, and I am confident that we have the ability to achieve a special result. We will go into the game without putting too much pressure on ourselves and do what we do best – play hockey.”
After a slow start to their Tokyo Olympics campaign - which began with losses against the Netherlands (1-5), Germany (0-2) and Great Britain (1-4) - the Indian team made a late surge to defeat Ireland (1-0) and South Africa (4-3) in their last two games.
The Indian women’s hockey team peaked at the right time by learning from the mistakes they had committed in earlier group stage matches and plugged the gaps with ease. Speaking about the team’s character, Rani said:
“We showed a lot of character to win our last two games after facing disappointment early on. Winning our matches against Ireland and South Africa while facing elimination speaks a lot about the determination and mentality of this team.”
Indian hockey team to work on converting chances
Australia have been on top in their defense, conceding just one goal in the group stages. They pocketed all 15 points on offer.
India's coach Sjoerd Marijne believes the onus will be on Australia as they have everything to lose. Marijne said:
“The pressure will be on Australia as they are one of the highest ranked teams in the competition. We will be able to play freely, which is very important for us. Our own focus is on approaching each game one at a time and to keep improving with every match. We have a training session today to stay in good rhythm ahead of the game, and then tomorrow we will take the field and try to express ourselves there.”
Sjoerd Marijne insisted that the team must not be preoccupied with the strengths and weaknesses of the opposition ahead of the crucial match. He said:
“We have to keep playing our game, like we did in the group stages. We won our last two matches because we learned from the mistakes we made early on and made improvements accordingly. We have been creating a lot of chances throughout the competition, but our conversion of those chances has not been up to the mark. We need to get better in that department, while also giving away fewer chances to the opposition.”
