DELHI (TIP): India could not have asked for more. A goal in the 40th minute warmed the cockles of hearts of not only thousands of the game enthusiasts who made it to the venue but also the lovers of Indian hockey worldwide.
The Indian team earned its well-deserved spot in the Final of FIH Hockey World Cup Qualifiers 2026 Hyderabad, Telangana as it beat Italy 1-0 in the second semifinal after England had already made the gold medal round with an emphatic 2-0 win over Scotland in the first semifinal. The packed G. M. C. Balayogi Hockey Ground (Gachibowli Hockey Complex) on Friday, ride as one after Manisha Chauhan (40′) scored the winning goal for India
It was an extremely tight contest in the first quarter as both sides constantly battled for possession in the midfield. India started the match well with a couple of strong circle entries, however, Italy eventually started attacking aggressively and created a few good chances on goal.
India won the momentum back in the second quarter. The hosts used their flanks to push the ball ahead and started attacking in numbers and made crucial circle entries. In the 18th minute, India won the first penalty corner of the evening but Navneet Kaur’s shot on goal was stopped well by Italian goalkeeper Lucia Ines Caruso. In the 27th minute, India was awarded another penalty corner as India played out an interesting variation. The ball was played back to the injector, Captain Salima Tete, but her shot was stopped on the line by Italy’s last defender, denying them a goal. In the 29th minute, India had another opportunity to score through a penalty corner but Navneet Kaur’s shot went off target.
In the early minutes of the second half, Italy launched a strong attack on goal as Emilia Munitis was through on goal but India’s goalkeeper Bichu Devi Kharibam came out and made a crucial save. In the 40th minute, India were awarded yet another penalty corner and this time it successfully converted it to break the deadlock. Manisha Chauhan (40′) delivered a powerful drag flick down the middle that pierced through the Italian defense and found the net.
India won two early penalty corners in the final quarter as it pushed to increase its advantage in the late stage but Italy remained resilient with their defending. Italy gave it their all in the final minutes of the match and won a crucial penalty corner in the 59th minute but India managed to deny their opposition the equalizer and emerged victorious.
India will next face England in the final on March 14.
(Toronto based Prabhjot Singh is an award-winning journalist recognized for investigative journalism, environment and business reporting, sports and feature writing. AMedia Consultant, he has remained associated with various news agencies, including Reuters, and media houses like PTC News (India/Canada), Parvasi Media (Canada) the Liberal World (India), and The Indian Panorama, New York. He is interested in Indian Diaspora and the Sikh Diaspora in particular. His work has appeared in various international and national newspapers, magazines and journals.)
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