The Indian women's hockey squad secured a decisive 5-1 win against Italy during their closing Pool B match at Ranchi's Marang Gomke Jaipal Singh Astroturf Hockey Stadium on Tuesday. By dominating the game, India finished as the runners-up in their pool behind the USA, ensuring a place in the semi-finals. A top-three placement in this qualifying event is all that stands between the team and a trip to the Paris 2024 Olympics this summer.
The Indian Women’s hockey team thrashed Italy 5-1 in its third and final Pool B match of the FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifiers 2024 at the Marang Gomke Jaipal Singh Astroturf Hockey Stadium in Ranchi on Tuesday. With a dominating win, India finished second in their pool behind the USA and advanced to the semi-finals. A top-three finish at the Ranchi meet will qualify the Indian women’s team for the Paris 2024 Olympics, which will be held in July and August of this year.
India's scoring was distributed among Udita, who bagged a brace, and Deepika, Salima Tete, and Navneet Kaur, who each scored once. Camila Machin provided the only goal for the Italian side. Because of the USA's victory over New Zealand earlier in the day, the world-ranked 6th Indian team knew a draw would suffice to advance to the next round.
The host nation started aggressively, with Salima—who had been a standout performer against New Zealand—forcing a penalty corner just sixty seconds into the match. Marking her 100th appearance for her country, Udita converted the chance with a powerful drag flick that beat goalkeeper Augustina D’ascola. While India controlled the early momentum, they were somewhat wasteful in the attacking zone toward the end of the first quarter, nearly giving Italy a chance to equalize.
Italy almost broke through when Moras Guadalupe found an opening, but Savita Punia made a crucial save. Throughout the second quarter, India maintained heavy pressure in search of a second goal, though the Italian defense held firm. Since Italy struggled to create any real threats of their own, India went into the halftime break with a 1-0 lead. The second half began with India pushing forward, and they were awarded a penalty stroke after Sofia Laurito fouled Lalremsiami from behind. Deepika stepped up and scored, extending the lead to 2-0.
Salima added another goal in the final moments of the third quarter to make it 3-0. As Italy pushed more players forward in a desperate attempt to score, Navneet Kaur exploited the space to net India's fourth goal in the 53rd minute, effectively sealing the result. Udita then completed her second goal of the match via another penalty corner to finalize the rout. Italy managed to salvage some pride with a late consolation goal by Machin just before the final whistle.
India is set to face Germany, the winners of Pool A, in the semi-finals this Thursday, January 18. Even a loss to Germany wouldn't be catastrophic, as India would still have a chance to secure their Olympic berth via the bronze medal match.