India vs Argentina Tokyo Olympics women’s hockey preview: Rani Rampal’s girls eye golden ticket

Coming into the quarterfinal match, the odds were totally against India but the side led by talismanic Rani Rampal and coached by master tactician Sjoerd Marijne exceeded expectations.

A historic feat already achieved, a rampaging Indian women’s hockey team would aim for more glory when it takes on mighty but beatable Argentina in the semifinals of the Olympic Games on Wednesday (August 4). A bunch of 18 fearless and determined Indian women did the unthinkable when they stunned three-time champions Australia 1-0 on Monday to enter the Olympic semifinals for the first time. Drag-flicker Gurjit Kaur rose to the occasion when it mattered and converted India's lone penalty corner in the 22nd minute to surprise the world number two side. Coming into the match, the odds were totally against India but the side led by talismanic Rani Rampal and coached by master tactician Sjoerd Marijne exceeded expectations. India’s best performance in the Olympics came way back in the 1980 Moscow Games where they finished fourth out of six teams. In that edition of the Games, women’s hockey made its debut in the Olympics and the sport was played in a round-robin format with top two teams qualifying for the final.