HIGHLIGHTS

• Gurjit Kaur scored the winning goal for India in the 22nd minute
• This team is like a family, says India’s goalscorer Gurjit Kaur
• India beat Australia 1-0 in their women’s hockey quarterfinal in Tokyo

India reached the semi-finals of the women’s Olympic hockey tournament on Monday after securing a hard-fought 1-0 win over Australia following a tense match at the Tokyo Olympics.

India will now face Argentina in the semi-finals on Wednesday after the South Americans cleared the quarter-finals for the first time since 2012 after a 3-0 win over Germany.

Gurjit Kaur scored India’s winning goal off a first-half penalty corner that made its way past Australia goalie Rachael Lynch, who had kept a clean sheet in the previous four matches.

“Very happy with the win, everybody worked very hard for this win. We performed like one team and we are feeling so happy to have qualified for the semifinals. Thank you to all those who supported the Indian women’s team,” an elated Gurjit Kaur said after the match.

“This team is like a family, including the coaching staff. Our entire country supports us and everybody’s prayers are with us,” added Gurjit Kaur.

Australia were unable to equalise in the second half despite ramping up the pressure and winning a number of penalty corners.

This is India’s third win in this Olympic campaign in succession after the triumphs over Ireland (1-0) and South Africa (4-3). They had opened their campaign with three successive defeats against the Netherlands (1-5), Germany (0-2) and Great Britain (1-4).

The Indian women hockey team’s best finish at the Olympics came on debut in Moscow back in 1980 when they ended fourth in the six-team competition.

Over the past couple of years, the Indian Women’s team has established itself as strong contenders in Asia. The team has won silver at the Asian Champions Trophy 2018, Asian Games in 2018, and gold at the 2017 Asia Cup.

At the Rio Olympics, India was eliminated at the Group Stage itself with four losses and a draw against Japan.