Women's FIH Olympic Qualifiers 2024: India begin campaign against USA in Pool A

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It's show time! Indian women's hockey team are ready to face the USA in the Women's FIH Olympic Qualifiers 2024 at the Marang Gomke Jaipal Singh Astroturf stadium in Ranchi on January 13. It's a do-or-die situation for India, and if they want to qualify for the Paris Olympics, they have to finish in the top 3 in these qualifiers.

The Indian team had defeated the US in the 2019 Olympic Qualifiers and will be looking to repeat that performance this time too. India had a strong opportunity to secure the gold medal at the 2023 Asian Games, earning qualification for the Paris Olympics.

However, China defeated India in the semi-finals, leading to India settling for the bronze medal. The current form of the Indian women's team has not been so good, before this tournament the Indian team went to Valencia to play in the 5 Nations Tournament and won only 1 match out of 4.

But the positive note is that India had won the Asian Champions Trophy before going to Valencia and that too in Ranchi and India was undefeated in the Asian Champions Trophy. Meanwhile, the USA finished runners-up to Argentina in the Pan American Games 2023.

When comparing these two teams head-to-head, India and the USA have faced each other 15 times since their initial meeting in the 1983 Women's Hockey World Cup in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. India has maintained an advantage in this rivalry, securing victories in nine instances compared to the USA's four wins, with 2 matches drawn.

Not only qualifying for the Paris Olympics is a headache for the Indian women's hockey team but it also has to deal with injuries to its star players. After the Asian Games, Sushila Chanu hurt her ACL, and Vandana Katariya broke her cheekbone right before the tournament, so she was told to take a break.

Another experienced player, Deep Grace Ekka, has been excluded from the squad. When asked about this during the press conference on Wednesday, Schopman said, "Regarding Grace, she needs to figure out why she isn't here."

But despite all this, India will have to qualify because it is a do-or-die situation.