India enter last-4

Hiroshima, June 18 

Gurjit Kaur slammed four goals as India thrashed Fiji 11-0 to storm into the semifinals of the FIH Women’s Series Finals hockey tournament here today.

Gurjit struck in the 15th, 19th, 21st and 22nd minutes, while Monika (11th, 33rd minutes) scored a brace for India in a lop-sided Pool A match. 

Lalremsiami (4th), captain Rani Rampal (10th), Vandana Katariya (12th), Lilima Minz (51st) and Navneet Kaur (57th) were also among the goal-scorers.

World No. 9 India dominated their lowly-ranked opponents throughout the match, allowing Fiji to make just one circle entry in the entire 60 minutes. India made 74 circle entries, had 32 shots on goal and enjoyed 62 percent possession.

Having finished on the top of their pool, India ensured a direct entry into the semifinals. Russia also made it straight to the semifinals by finishing on top of a more competitive Pool B.

In the semifinals on Saturday, India will face the winner of the crossover match between Chile and Uruguay. Russia will face the winner of the match between Poland and Asian Games champions Japan.

India captain Rani said their focus now was on the big match. “It’s amazing that we are in the semifinals. Our team played consistent hockey and we topped the pool. Now we are looking forward to the semifinal,” Rani said. “Whomever we play we just have to focus on ourselves. We have to give our best.” — PTI