FIH Olympic Qualification: Indian Women Ride Udita Duhan Brace to Beat Italy 5-1, Advance to Semi-Finals
India will face Pool A toppers Germany in the semi-finals, while the US will face Japan. The three best teams qualify for the Olympic Games in Paris.
Ranchi: Udita Duhan capped her milestone 100th international appearance with a double goal that moved India closer to a ticket to Paris after the home side defeated Italy 5-1 to enter the semi-final of the FIH Olympic Qualification on Tuesday . Udita (1st minute, 55th), Deepika (41st), Salima Tete (45th) and Navneet Kaur (53rd) were the scorers for the Indian team as it finished second in Pool B with two wins from three matches behind the United States, who were left undefeated.
India will take on Pool A toppers Germany in the semi-finals on Thursday, while the US will take on Japan. The three best teams qualify for the Olympic Games in Paris. It was another good showing from the Indians after the 0-1 loss to USA in their opener, controlling the proceedings from start to finish. Udita was very strong at the back, while the little Neha Goyal and Salima were in charge in midfield.
It was a perfect start for India, as just like in the previous match, the home team took the lead in the first minute. India picked up where they left off and played high-press and attacked hockey from the start.
A few seconds after the match, Sangita Kumari forced Italian goalkeeper Lucia Ines Caruso into an excellent save.
Sangita's reverse strike from the top of the circle was cleared by a fully extended Caruso, but from the resulting strike India secured their first penalty corner.
And Udita was accurately on target with a perfectly executed slap shot, giving the hosts an early lead.
Italy had a chance to draw when they were awarded their first penalty corner just 50 seconds before the end of the first quarter, but in turn it was India who were countered.
Sonika made a brilliant run from the left and dribbled past a few defenders to pass the ball to Beauty Dung Dung, whose close-range effort was stopped by Caruso. Two minutes into the second quarter, Sangita earned India's second penalty corner, but this time Udita's was kept at bay by the Italian defense. The Indian defenders had another good day in office as they didn't put a foot wrong to deny Italy an open chance.
The backline led by captain and goalkeeper Savita Punia was faultless in the first two quarters, eliminating loose balls inside their own striking circle as the Italians failed to get a clear shot on target.
Three minutes after the change of ends, Salima Tete and Lalremsiami combined well from the right flank to provide a beautiful ball for Jyoti inside the circle, who failed to get a good connection.
India soon secured their third penalty corner, but Monika failed to stop Salima's attack. Lurking in front of the Italian circle, an opportunistic Lalremsiami pounced on a loose ball and earned a penalty for India after being brought down by goalkeeper Caruso. Deepika rose and made no mistake from the spot to give India a 2-0 lead.
Salima extended the lead just 50 seconds into the third quarter, firing from the right corner past Caruso into the top of the Italian net. Seven minutes after the final whistle, Navneet made the score 4-0, effectively crushing Italy's hopes of recovery. She did the kicking past five Italian defenders who cut in from the right flank for an opportunistic attack.
Minutes later, Italy created back-to-back penalty corners but could not get past Savita in front of the Indian goal. Udita played a great game and she made the match memorable by converting another penalty corner two minutes later, allowing India to complete a convincing win. Italy got a consolation goal just before the final whistle when Camila Machin converted a penalty corner.