Tokyo Olympics : Indian women’s hockey team created history
Indian women’s hockey team created history: For the first time in the Olympic semi-finals, defeating 3-time champions Australia by 1-0 in the quarter-finals
Indian women’s hockey team has created history. The team has reached the semi-finals of the Olympics for the first time. India defeated three-time Olympic champions Australia by 1-0 in the quarter-finals. Gurjit Kaur scored the only goal for India in the 22nd minute from a penalty corner. Team India will now face Argentina in the semi-finals on August 4. Argentina defeated Germany by 3-0 in the quarter-finals to reach the semi-finals.
The women’s hockey team took part for the first time in 1980. However, there was no semi-final format then. After the group stage, the 2 teams with the most points played directly in the final. The Indian team then finished fourth in the pool of 6 teams. After this, Team India finished 12th in the 2016 Rio Olympics.
India’s golden era returned in hockey, This victory ensured that India’s golden era in hockey is returning. India got 2 happiness in this event in 2 consecutive days. On Sunday, the men’s hockey team reached the semi-finals in the Olympics after 49 years. They beat Great Britain by 3-1 in the quarter-finals and now the women’s team has doubled the joy by making it to the semi-finals. The women’s team made a remarkable comeback after losing the first 3 matches in the group stage and defeated Ireland, South Africa and now Australia in the last 3 matches.
Equal match in the first half, From the first quarter itself, there was a tough competition between the two teams. In the first quarter, both the teams missed a 1-1 chance to score. In the second minute of the match, Australia’s forward player attacked the Indian goal. However, he did not go in front of the Indian defenders. India had created a goal in the 9th minute of the game, but Rani Rampal missed it. Rani took a stroke on the pass of Vandana Kataria, but the ball went through the goalpost.
Indian team played amazing hockey in the second quarter. Australia played a great game in the third quarter. He got two penalty corners in this quarter. However, they failed to score. In the last 2 quarters, the Australian team played dominating. The team had many chances to score, but the team could not penetrate the Indian defence.
Journey of Indian women’s hockey team in Olympics so far, The Indian women’s team was placed in Pool A along with Netherlands, Germany, Britain, Ireland and South Africa. At the same time, teams from Australia, Argentina, New Zealand, Japan, China and Spain were included in Group B. Top 4 teams from both the groups advanced to the quarter finals. India finished fourth in their group with 2 wins and 3 losses.
The Indian women’s team’s campaign in Tokyo began with three consecutive defeats to the Netherlands, Germany and defending champions Britain. However, the team made a spectacular comeback, beating their above-ranked Ireland team by 1-0. After this they defeated South Africa by 4-3. India’s quarter-final position was decided after beating Ireland by 2-0 in the last match of Pool A.
