Olympics qualifiers: Mighty Germany stand in India’s way

Ranchi, January 17

Just one win away from securing a Paris Olympics berth, a resilient India will need to produce their ‘A’ game against the higher-ranked Germany in the semifinals of the FIH Olympic Qualifiers here tomorrow.

The Indians bounced back from a 0-1 loss to USA to outclass New Zealand and Italy and seal their semifinal spot.

It was a near-perfect performance in the last two matches with all departments clicking in unison and the Savita Punia-led side would look to continue the same way in the business end of the tournament.

The top three teams will qualify for this year’s Olympics and a win on Thursday will guarantee India a ticket to Paris. In case they fail to do so, the Indians will get another shot in the third-place match.

But the home side needs to approach the match against Germany with a positive mindset. Since 2006, India have beaten Germany just twice in seven meetings. “They have got very good individual skills, they defend really well, but if we play to our strengths, we can also hurt them. We need to defend really well,” India coach Janneke Schopman said.