Hyderabad: India set up a semifinal clash against Italy at the FIH Women’s World Cup qualifiers at the G M C Balayogi Hockey Ground in Hyderabad, after a 4-1 win over Wales ensured that they topped Pool B ahead of Scotland, who beat Uruguay earlier in the day. Navneet Kaur scored a hat-trick for India, after a superb opening goal from Sakshi Rana put India on their way in the first quarter.
In this game against Wales, India were dominant for 35 minutes, but yet again, they couldn’t put together a full 60-minute performance. Before the match, Sjoerd Marijne spoke of his team needing to improve in converting their chances, but once again, India didn’t quite do that.
Scotland secured a convincing 3–1 victory over Uruguay while Italy and Korea played out a hard-fought 1–1 draw in their respective pool matches.
In the Pool B encounter, Scotland registered a 3–1 win over Uruguay. Jennifer Eadie opened the scoring in the 10th minute to give Scotland the advantage. Uruguay equalised through Teresa Viana in the 18th minute, keeping the contest evenly poised.
However, Scotland regained control in the second half as Katherine Holdgate struck twice in the 43rd and 58th minutes to seal the victory. The win strengthens Scotland’s position in Pool B as the qualifiers continue in Hyderabad.
Earlier in a Pool A match, Italy took an early lead through Federica
Carta, who scored in the seventh minute to put her side ahead. Korea responded strongly and managed to level the score in the second quarter when Jiyun Choi found the net in the 26th minute. Both teams created several chances thereafter, but solid defending and goalkeeping ensured the match ended in a stalemate.