Indian women hockey team defeated Australia in the quarterfinals today to enter into the semifinals in the Tokyo Olympics. They created history by qualifying for semifinals in Olympics for the first time.
The women in blue defeated a formidable Aussies by 1-0 goals. Drag-flicker Gurjit Kaur scored the only goal of the match from India’s lone penalty corner in the 22nd minutes.
Despite Australian eves trying their best to equalize the score with some attacking hockey in the second half, they failed to convert a handful of penalty corners and Indian girls managed to thwart the Aussies attack.
While India is ranked at 9, Australia is the current world number 2. Despite a shaky start to their campaign with three losses, Indian girls entered into quarter-final after winning their last league matches against Ireland and South Africa. At the same time Australia were unbeaten in the league stage.
The women’s hockey team’s historic win comes a day after the men’s hockey team made history by entering semi-final yesterday after 49 years.