Indian Women Hockey Team will Fight for Bronze After They Bow Out of Semifinals Despite a Valiant Effort

The semifinals of women’s hockey at the Tokyo Olympics saw the Indian women hockey team go up against Argentina for a bid to reach the finals. The Indians upset Australia in a big way, winning 1-0 in one of the biggest surprises of the tournament. The Indian women went in to the match with nothing to lose, as the match started off.

The first few minutes of the first quarter saw India attack, as they penetrated the circle and got a penalty corner. Dragflicker Gurjit delivered under pressure, and scored a goal for India in the second minute of the match. The match was slow after that for the first quarter, and India were up 1-0.

The second quarter saw Argetina play much more aggressively and take control of the ball. They took three penalty corners, and 2 of them were successfully defended by goalkeeper Savita. The third corner was unfortunately not defended, as Noel Maria Barrionuevo was too fast and the ball went into the goal. The score was 1-1. With five minutes of the match left India got 2 penalty corners, which were successfully defended. The Argentinian women continued to press on, and another penalty corner from them was defended by Savita well.

The score was 1-1 after the second quarter, and the second half of the match needed to be played well by the Indians if they wanted to secure their place in the finals.

Indian Women Hockey Team put up a Tough Fight in the Second Half

The Argentinians pressed on hard in the third quarter, and found themselves with a penalty corner despite India’s best defence. The penalty corner went in favour of Argentina, and it was another goal for them. The score was 2-1 in favour of Argentina with 10 minutes of the third quarter left to go. The Indian women needed to attack in order to score a goal. India tried to attack but the opponent’s defence was extremely strong, and they could not even get close to the goal. The Indian women could not seem to hold on to possession of the ball.

The fourth quarter would be crucial for India, as they were trailing by one goal. India played much more aggressively in the last quarter, and forced Argentina to make errors. India held the ball in the mid field, and they came very close to scoring a goal, unfortunately it hit the post but it was a good try for India. Quick andsharp attacks from the Indians resulted in a penalty corner at a moment, but it was defended well by Argentina. A fantastic save by Savita in the last 5 minutes of the match kept the Indian hope alive as India attacked its way into the Argentinian half.

Unfortunately it was not meant to be for India, as the Argentinian defence was too strong for the Indians, and Argentina won the match 2-1. The Indian women hockey team will now be up against Great Britain in the fight for the bronze medal, after a valiant performance in today’s semifinals.

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