India eye semifinal berth in Women’s Hockey WC qualifiers
India will look for at least a draw against Wales in their final pool match to advance to the semifinal of the FIH Women’s Hockey World Cup Qualifiers on Wednesday.
India are currently leading Pool B with four points from two games, same as second place Scotland but enjoy a superior goal difference.
The top two teams from each pool will qualify for the semifinals and India will need a draw or a win to enter the last four round.
But If India lose, they will stay on four points and their qualification will depend on the match between Scotland and Uruguay.
The Indian women have had a strong campaign so far. They opened the tournament with a massive 4-0 win over Uruguay on March 8 and then fought hard for a 2-2 draw against Scotland on Monday. Young forward Sunelita Toppo has been in top form, scoring in both matches. Attackers Lalremsiami, Navneet Kaur, and Rutuja Dadaso Pisal have also been excellent, finding the net and creating multiple scoring opportunities.
The Indian defence has also held firm, with goalkeeper Bichu Devi making crucial saves consistently.
Playing in front of a cheering home crowd in Hyderabad has also given the hosts a wonderful boost of energy.
India captain Salima Tete is satisfied with the team’s performance so far.
“After the opening two games, there is positivity in the team. The young players are taking their opportunity and have been doing very well. The team is relishing playing freely, and that is a very good thing for us,” she said. “We want to qualify for the World Cup and become champions. That’s what we talk about when the team is together and that’s our goal,” Tete added.
India enjoys a promising record against Wales, leading the head-to-head battles 5-1. But Wales will come hard hard in their bid to register their first win of the campaign, and so India need to stay focused and avoid complacency.
The top three teams from this tournament will qualify for the World Cup to be held in Belgium and the Netherlands later this year.
In other matches of the day, England will play Austria, Italy will take on Korea and Scotland will be up against Uruguay.
