Indian women book SF spot with thumping win over Thailand
Published : Aug 27, 2018 12:12 IST
Good afternoon and welcome to Sportstar's LIVE updates of the women's hockey Pool B match between India and Thailand at the Asian Games.
India's starting XI for this contest is : Rajani Etimarpu, Deep Grace Ekka, Sunita Lakra, Gurjit Kaur, Namita Toppo, Monika, Lilima Minz, C. Rani, Vandana Katariya, Reena Khokhar, Navneet Kaur
A slurry of goals in the fourth quarter gets India a 5-0 win over Thailand. India goes into the semifinals as Pool B toppers with 12 points from its 4 games.
1.49pm: Final minute! Thailand is pushing to get one back. They come so close, but the goalkeeper saves.
1.46pm: GOAL! Hat-trick for Rani Rampal! Things seem to flowing now, for India.
1.44pm: GOAL no. 4! Goyal squares the ball to Navjot Kaur and she doesn't miss. INDIA 4-0 THAILAND
1.41pm: 52' But this time it goes in. GOALLL! The first shot from the penalty corner was saved, but Monika quickly got to the rebound and struck it into goal. INDIA 3-0 THAILAND
1.40pm: India gets its fifth penalty corner. They're yet to score one from a penalty corner today.
1.38pm: Thailand's goalkeeper has been kept busy today and she's done a pretty goof job overall. She makes way for Narueangram.
1.36pm: Coach Sjeord Marijne looks relieved as his team looks on its way into the semifinals as indisputable toppers of Pool B.
1.34pm: GOALLLL! It's captain Rani Rampal again. She gets to the rebound after Udita's shot was saved and makes no mistake as she tucks it in goal. INDIA 2-0 THAILAND
1.32pm: We're into the final quarter and India is on the front foot right away.
1.30pm: End of the third quarter! India came close to scoring its second towards the end of the quarter, but Thailand held fort.
1.29pm: Lilima Minz has been given a green card. So India's down to 10 for two minutes.
1.27pm: India tries to slalom through the Thai circle once again, but it's a little too crowded for comfort.
1.25pm: Thailand, which has stood on the backfoot so far and defended, will need to step up if it has to equalize.
1.23pm: 37' Rani Rampal expertly scoops the ball into the far corner, to score her first goal at Asian Games 2018 and puts India in front here.
1.22pm: GOALLL! INDIA 1-0 THAILAND
1.20pm: Nope! Gurjit Kaur's drag flick doesn't have enough power on it and the goalkeeper saves it.
1.20pm: Another penalty corner for India! India's fourth penalty corner. Can Gurjit Kaur get this in?
1.17pm: BIG CHANCE BUT WHAT A SAVE! Namita Toppo unleashes a powerful shot, but the Thai goalkeeper gets down low and keeps it out. The ball hits the post and comes out, but no one's there to restart the move.
1.16pm: Rani Rampal's shot is wide. Again!
1.15pm: India gets a penalty corner. It's a good start.
1.14pm: The game resumes, India desperately looking to score.
At half-time, India and Thailand are still level (surprising). Neither team has created enough chances. India, despite having most of the possession, has failed to threaten the Thai goal enough. It hasn't converted a few chances that came by either. It could be an assured semifinal spot, but the Indians don't look as ruthless and focused as they were in their previous games. Thailand's defense has done well, but hasn't really been tested.
HALF-TIME: INDIA 0-0 THAILAND
1.02pm: The second quarter draws to a close and India hasn't looked convincing today.
12.58pm: Penalty Corner! But Rani Rampal's shot is straight at the goalkeeper.
12.56pm: CHANCE! Probably India's biggest chance so far. Rani Rampal plays a good ball across goal but Lalremsiami, right in front of goal, is unable to get any touch on it.
12.52pm: The Indians are trying to force their way down the centre which is crowded by the Thai defence. They might need to try a different strategy. India's play hasn't been as fluent as it was in its previous games.
12.50pm: Chance! Vandana Kataria gets the ball in front of goal with a chance to shoot. She turns to shoot but the Thai goalkeeper charges in and steals the ball.
12.47pm: The second quarter begins!
12.44pm: And the hooter goes for the end of the first quarter. After a quarter that didn't throw any clear-cut chances to either teams, they're still level at 0-0.
12.42pm: A lovely move involving some smart one-twos got India through to front of goal, but they squandered the ball at the decisive moment.
Meanwhile, PV Sindhu has beaten Akane Yamaguchi and is into the final. Follow our live blog here .
12.36pm: Lilima Minz tries to plays a ball from the middle of the field to the circle, through the Thai defence. It's a good idea, but none of the Indian attackers could get on the end of it.
12.35pm: The PC is wasteful. Thailand defends well but the shot wasn't very good either.
12.34pm: Rani Rampal strikes one from just inside the circle, but it's high. India wins a penalty corner right after.
12.33pm: We're three minutes into the first quarter. India has slowly started moving into attack, after Thailand had most of possession.
12.30pm: And we're underway!
Much like the male counterparts, the Sjoerd Marijne's women have scored plenty (33) while conceding just once from their three matches so far.
Indian women's team's results so far
- India 8-0 Indonesia
- India 21-0 Kazakhstan
- India 4-1 South Korea