Ireland completed the women’s semi-final line-up for the Olympic qualifiers with 16 hopefuls now reduced to eight contenders across the two events this week.
The Green Army produced an outstanding performance to defeat higher-ranked Korea 3-1 in Valencia to earn them second place in Pool A.
Needing a draw or better, they made the main early moves but had to wait until the second half before going ahead through a diving Sarah Hawkshaw.
Deirdre Duke bundled in for 2-0 before Korea pulled one back but a Róisín Upton penalty stroke put them out of sight.
Captain Katie Mullan was thrilled by the performance: “It feels great we are very excited. This is the place we wanted to be in. I’m really proud of the girls tonight.
“It was another game and another job done. And we put in a brilliant performance. Everyone did their job and we are ready to go for the semi-final.”
They will face hosts Spain in the semis after they came back from 1-0 down in the final quarter to defeat Canada and win 5-1.
They trailed for a long time to an Anna Mollenhauer effort but Lucia Jimenez got them back on terms with 13 minutes to go.
Twins Sara and Laura Barrios scored two close-range goals in quick succession and Belén Iglesias extended the advantage to 4-1 with a fourth in a seven minute spell. Patricia Alvarez completed the scoring in the final minute.
The other semi-final in Valencia will also be an all-European affair with Great Britain scoring six times in the second quarter to beat Malaysia 8-1.
Belgium went even bigger with a 13-0 success over Ukraine with Ambre Ballenghien adding another five goals to her tournament total; she now has nine.
In Ranchi, Germany were also big winners as they defeated Czechia 10-0 to ensure they topped Pool A with Sonja Zimmerman netting a hat trick.
They will next meet home side India who made it through with a 5-1 win over Italy. USA topped Pool B with three wins from three and will now play Japan.
The winner of each of Thursday’s semi-finals will all earn a ticket to Paris in the summer while the losers will have one last chance in the third place playoff.
- 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
