Belgium, Spain and Germany’s women all rubber-stamped their tickets to the summer’s Olympic Games on a day of high drama in Valencia.
For the Belgians, they edged out Great Britain 3-2 following a blockbuster semi-final of their competition. Barbara Nelen’s sublime mid-air control and finish put them one up before Tess Howard levelled in Q2.
A goal from Stephanie Vanden Borre from a corner edged the Red Panthers back in front and Justine Rasir’s rising shot seemingly made the game safe with five minutes to go.
Ellie Rayer, however, got one back to make things lively with a powerful backhand shot. Belgium, though, held on to pick up an Olympic spot for the first time since 2012.
GB will have one more shot at qualification on Saturday when they come up against Ireland whose hearts were broken by Spain in a shoot-out.
The Spanish hosts had initially shared a tight-knit 0-0 draw against the Green Army with precious few chances at either end in normal time.
In the shoot-out, Spain took the lead in round two and subsequently scored three in a row while goalkeeper Clara Perez continued to be unbeaten.
In the end, an audacious lob from Maria Lopez sealed a 3-0 scoreline in the shoot-out to spark the celebrations in the lively crowd.
In Ranchi, meanwhile, Germany defeated hosts India in a shoot-out with Lisa Nolte producing a unique through-the-legs shot to eventually end the game in suddent death.
Normal time was a rollercoaster. Deepika put India in front but a lovely spinning effort from Charlotte Stapenhorst equalised at 1-1; Stapenhorst then thought she had won the game when she made it 2-1 in the 57th minute.
But Ishika Chaudhary’s corner goal soon after sent the game to a shoot-out. There, India built a 2-1 advantage in the first three rounds but were pegged back to 3-3 at the end of the regulation series.
Then Nolte scored the first goal of the sudden death phase to send Die Danas into raptures of delight.
USA won the other Olympic spot on offer today with a win over Japan; the cherry blossoms meet India for that ticket on Friday.
On the men’s side in Ranchi, Germany confirmed they will top their group with a 3-0 win over Chile. On Saturday, they will face Pakistan.
Great Britain, meanwhile, ran up another massively impressive win when they swept aside China 6-0. Their reward is a semi-final date against New Zealand.
Friday sees the first men’s Olympic tickets confirmed from this series with Ireland playing Spain in Valencia (12.30pm CET) and Belgium facing Korea (3.30pm CET).
- Get streaming and telecast details at the following links
Watch FIH Paris Olympic Qualifier India live
Watch FIH Paris Olympic Qualifier Spain live
Watch FIH Paris Olympic Qualifier Oman live
- Go to the official event website: www.olympics.hockey
