Indian Women’s Hockey Team Knocked out of Paris Olympics Qualifiers with 0-1 Loss to Japan

The Indian women’s hockey team suffered a major setback as they failed to qualify for the Paris Olympics after a 0-1 loss to Japan in the FIH Qualifiers in Ranchi. Japan’s Kana Urata scored the sole goal in the sixth minute from a penalty corner, securing their spot in the Olympics. This defeat comes as a blow to the Indian team, who had gained momentum after their historic semifinal finish at the Tokyo Games. Germany and USA are the other two teams to have qualified for the Olympics. The Indians had one last chance to make it to the Olympics after failing to qualify at the Asian Games. However, their disappointing performance against Japan dashed their hopes. Throughout the match, the Indian team struggled to threaten the Japanese goal and failed to capitalize on multiple penalty corners. Despite a strong attacking display in the second half, India couldn’t find the back of the net. The lack of conversion on penalty corners proved to be their downfall. With nine penalty corners in total, India couldn’t make them count, highlighting their perennial issue with conversion. The Indian players also seemed to lack intent and ideas, relying on long-range shots instead of utilizing their strengths of short, crisp passes. The defeat to Japan is a reminder that there is still much work to be done for the Indian women’s hockey team to compete at the highest level.