India’s women’s hockey team has reached the semi-finals after defeating Australia 1-0 in the quarter-final match today, marking a historic victory in the current Tokyo Olympics. Gurjit Kaur scored from a penalty corner in the 22nd minute of the match to give India the win. With a tremendously tough effort, the world No. 9 women’s team also made history. The odds were stacked against India going into the match, as world no. 2 Australia, a formidable undefeated opponent, awaited them in the remaining four rounds.
The win occurred just one day after the men’s hockey team qualified for the semifinals. India’s women’s team placed fourth in Pool A with six points, following back-to-back victories over Ireland and South Africa. Each pool’s top four teams advanced to the elimination round.
On August 1, the Indian women’s hockey team made history by becoming the first Indian team to qualify for the Olympic Games semifinals, defeating three-time champions Australia. The Indian women’s hockey team’s greatest performance in the Olympics occurred in 1980 when they finished fourth out of six teams in Moscow. Only six teams competed in that edition, with India finishing fourth in a round-robin style with no classification or elimination matches.
The Indian women staged a spectacular recovery after losing their first three matches against the Netherlands, Germany, and the reigning champions Great Britain, beating higher-ranked Ireland 1-0 and overwhelming South Africa 4-3 to keep themselves in contention. Throughout the pool stages, the Rani-led attack line has been outstanding, but players like Sharmila Devi, Lalremsiami, and Rani herself have missed several opportunities. So far, the Indians have struggled with penalty corner conversions, with ace drag-flicker Gurjit Kaur appearing like a pale shell of her former self.
So far, the Indians have struggled with penalty corner conversions, with ace drag-flicker Gurjit Kaur appearing like a pale shell of her former self. So far, the squad has collected 33 penalty corners from five pool matches but has only used four of them, with all of the goals coming from variations.
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