Indian Women's Hockey Team Qualifies For 2020 Tokyo Olympics Beating USA 6-5 On Aggregate

Indian women’s hockey team qualified for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games by after beating USA 6-5 on aggregate despite losing the second match 1-4 in the double-leg FIH Qualifiers in Bhubaneswar on Saturday.

After thrashing USA 5-1 on Friday, the Indian girls looked a pale shadow of themselves on Saturday as USA raced to a 4-0 lead in the first half, courtesy goals from Amanda Magadan (5th, 28th minutes), skipper Kathleen Sharkey (14th) and Alyssa Parker (20th). India's vital goal was scored by captain Rani Rampal in the 48th minute.

Indian women have participated in the 1980 Moscow Olympics and qualified again in Rio after 36 years.

This is the second time in a row that they have made it to the tournament proper despite a huge scare after the US led the hosts 4-0 at half-time.