There is a great reason to cheer. Indian women’s hockey team have put an impressive score as on Sunday they won the FIH Women's Series Finals Hiroshima 2019. The squad defeated hosts Japan 3-1 in the Final held at the Hiroshima Hockey Stadium.
The Indian team was saved by an early goal from captain Rani in the third minute. On the other hand, Rani Rampal’s team was backed by determined Gurjit Kaur who scored in the 45th and 60th minutes, leading to an inevitable victory. Kanon Mori's score was the only goal from Japan in the 11th minute.
The World No.9 Indian team had already qualified for the FIH Olympic Qualifiers 2019 on Saturday after securing a place in the final of the competition.
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Praising the team effort, the head coach Sjoerd Marijne said, “It was a hard-fought match, it was a difficult match. We did nothing wrong.” “I think we defended very well, we play fast combination hockey and have a good drag-flick. She (drag-flicker Gurjit Kaur) was impressive again today,” he said after the match.
India registered a 4-2 victory after a tough battle with Chile in the semi-final on Saturday. The match was paving for India as they secured a berth in the final Olympic qualifiers with a win over Chile in the semi-final. Currently ranked No. 9 in the world, the aim of the Indian team would now be to improve its rankings before the September cut-off. A top-7 place in the world rankings would get a chance for the two-leg qualifiers, slated to be held in October.
“We are happy with the 500 points. When we came here, our mission was 500 points. Hopefully, we will be given the advantage to play at home (in the final round of Olympic qualifiers) and that will be great,” he added.
The Indian women’s hockey team showed sensational form as they bagged silver medals at both the Asian Games 2018 and Youth Olympic Games. They finished runners-up at the Asian Champions Trophy in Donghae, Korea this year.
Feature Image Credit: Livemint
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