FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifiers: How can India qualify for semifinals?
India takes on Italy in the final Group B match at the FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifiers in Ranchi on Tuesday.
With one win and one loss in its two matches, India’s fate in the tournament rests on the encounter against the European side. Savita Punia’s side sits in the third place, level on points with New Zealand, at three.
This is how the table looks before the final round of fixtures:
| Teams | Matches | Won | Lost | Draw | Goals Scored | Goals Conceded | Goal Difference | Points |
| USA | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 6 |
| New Zealand | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 3 |
| India | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| Italy | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | -5 | 0 |
How can India advance to the semifinals?
Only the top two qualify for the last four from each group which means the match between USA and New Zealand will have a bearing on India’s qualification.
Ideally, India needs to go ahead of New Zealand on points. Hence, if New Zealand draws then India needs to win, and if New Zealand loses, India needs just a draw against Italy.
However, If New Zealand wins, India will have to win too and also ensure it wins by a better margin. This is because in case teams are level on points, the tie is broken by goal difference, goals scored and goals conceded – in this order.
For example, if New Zealand wins 2-0 against USA, it will take its difference to three goals with six goals in total. India then needs to win 3-0 or better.