Indian women go into Saturday’s hockey encounter with Japan in the World League Semifinals with the focus on enhancing their claim for Olympic qualification after a gap of 36 years.
India is eager to cover most angles in the qualification race by winning this playoff for the fifth position against Japan which it reckons should get it into the Olympic Games for the first time since Moscow in 1980.
“We want to cover all angles when the countdown to Olympic qualification comes to teams that have not made the top four grade at the two World League Semifinals,” said Indian coach Mathias Ahrens, who wants his wards to be hungrier in converting goal-scoring opportunities.
Three spots each are on offer at both the World League Semifinal competitions — here at Antwerp and in the just-concluded event at Valencia.
With five continental event champions being allowed another route, there are likely to be several dual qualifications. In turn, that can open up Olympic spots for nations which do not make the top four of the two World League Semifinals.
Germany, Great Britain and China have secured the three Olympic berths from the World League Semifinals in Valencia.
World Cup silver medallist Argentina missed the initial cut when it lost the bronze medal match and finished fourth, but with South Korea advancing to the final at Antwerp, the Argentines could get a qualifying spot soon.
The United States, which finished fifth in Valencia, also has a chance to earn direct qualification from the Pan American Games before the countdown starts among lower-ranked teams of the World League Semifinals.
Three teams here at Antwerp will secure their Rio de Janeiro tickets, but South Korea has already earned an Olympic slot by winning the Asian Games gold medal.
An African champion could be the only one not to have featured among the top four teams at these two World League Semifinals, opening up more places, even if Olympic host Brazil is given a leeway to make the grade.
Both in the men and women’s events, Brazil has been allowed a leeway of making the Olympics if it can achieve the fifth place in the Pan American Games.
In the women’s event, Brazil is only a reserve team in case there are any withdrawals from the Pan American Games that start in Canada in two weeks.
Effectively, this means that even a loss to Japan could take the Indian eves to Rio de Janeiro, because the sixth-placed team in the other World League Semifinals is Spain. Spain’s No. 15 position in world rankings is two places behind India, but the wait could be pensive.
