After thrashing Italy, India a win away from Paris spot

Udita, in her 100th match for India, leads with two goals to keep the hosts on course to earn a berth at the Paris Olympics

- Rutvick Mehta

It took 45 seconds for India to get their first goal. It took the final second for Italy to get theirs. In between, India had done enough and more to secure the semi-final spot in the FIH Women's Hockey Olympic Qualifiers here and keep their 2024 Paris Olympics hopes on track.

What appeared to have gone horribly off the rails in the opening loss to USA was strung back together in two solid victories against New Zealand and Italy, the latter coming by 5-1 on Tuesday.

Coach Janneke Schopman could afford a smile later, for the first hurdle had been crossed. World No. 5 and Pool A toppers Germany await in the semi-final on Thursday, where a defeat could still give the team another bite at the Paris cherry with the losing semi-finalists of the USA-Japan clash.

With USA beating New Zealand 1-0 earlier in the day to qualify atop Pool B, the task for the hosts was pretty straightforward: win or draw with the 19th-ranked Italians.

Win they did, through a free-flowing start and finish. A 40-minute period between the first goal and the second had India "struggle a bit before picking themselves up and dominating the game", as the coach stated.