Red Lions start off hot, Indian eves bounce back and Danas held to a draw on Day 2

Another set of compelling games sent the FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifiers 2024 racing into their second day of action. Fantastically unpredictable throughout, big names such as the German women were held to a 1-1 draw against Japan, despite beating Chile on the first day. Meanwhile, the Chileans bounced back to fire a convincing six goals past Czechia. India women kicked off their point scoring for the tournament with a crucial win over New Zealand and the Belgian men smashed seven past Japan, matching Spain women’s goalscoring feat from the first day’s play. With some sizable upsets and some attention-grabbing wins, the second day of Qualifiers thickened the plot in each of the pools, offering every team that played a growing sense of what they must do to draw closer to Paris.

Ranchi

Starting off the day in Ranchi, Chile came roaring back from yesterday’s defeat with a huge 6-0 win over Czechia. Five second half goals gave them their first points of the qualifiers, points which left Czechia at the bottom of Pool A. The next game saw Japan survive a barrage of fourteen German penalty corners to secure a 1-1 draw and maintain their unbeaten record over the last two days. A draw puts both teams on level points at the top of the pool.

In Pool B, the USA extended their strong start to the qualifiers, doing enough to secure a 2-0 victory against Italy. They doubled their points tally and now sit three points clear at the top of the pool. Lower in the table, India registered their first points of their home tournament, beating New Zealand 3-1. With all four goals coming in the first quarter, the scoring settled to put the hosts on level points with the Blacksticks after two games.

Valencia (Women’s)

In Spain, Malaysia’s bad first day continued into the second as Canada fired three past them without conceding. Sara McManus’ two penalty corner goals and Player of the Match performance cemented a convincing 3-0 win. That pushed Canada just above Great Britain in Pool B, as Spain scored the game’s only goal in their final quarter against the Brits. A 1-0 win was enough to push the hosts three points clear at the top of the pool, whilst the British were left in third, agonising over points missed.

Valencia (Men’s)

Korea began the day strongly in the men’s competition, securing a 2-2 draw against hosts Spain. Two first quarter field goals for the Spanish were cancelled out by two Korean penalty corners later in the game, giving Korea their second draw of the tournament. The other game in Pool B saw Austria beat Egypt 2-0, with Josef Winkler’s field goal doubling his tally for the tournament so far. The Austrian win leaves the table in exciting shape and each team with a chance of qualification.

A repeat scoreline from one of yesterday’s games kicked off Pool A, as the Belgians bashed seven past Japan, firing their tournament into life. Two goals each for Tom Boon and Florent van Aubel allowed Belgium to rapidly build upon their 1-goal lead at half-time, as both scored their brace in the final quarter. Another convincing win came in the final game of the day, with Ireland beating Ukraine 5-1. However, even five goals, including a brace from Lee Cole, was not enough to send them to the top of the pool, as Belgium sit comfortable with their +7 goal difference.

To see the current pool standings for the FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifiers in Ranchi, please click here.

To see the current pool standings for the FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifiers in Valencia, please click here.

For more information about the qualifiers and the upcoming Olympic Games Paris 2024, visit Olympics.Hockey.

FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifiers 2024

Ranchi, India - 14 January

Result Match 1 (W)

Chile 6-0 Czechia

Player of the match: Manuela Urroz (CHI)

Umpires: Katrina Turner & Rebecca Edwards

Result Match 2 (W)

Japan 1-1 Germany

Player of the match: Akio Tanaka (JPN)