Hyderabad, March 13 – The Indian Women's Hockey team secured their spot in the final of the FIH Hockey World Cup Qualifiers 2026 in Hyderabad, Telangana, as they defeated Italy 1-0 in their semi-final match at the G. M. C. Balayogi Hockey Ground (Gachibowli Hockey Complex) on Friday.
Manisha Chauhan (40') scored the winning goal for India, and they will now face England in the final.
The first quarter was a very close contest, with both teams constantly battling for possession in midfield. India started the match strongly, with a couple of strong circle entries, but Italy eventually started attacking aggressively and created a few good chances on goal.
India regained the momentum in the second quarter. The hosts used their flanks to push the ball forward and started attacking in numbers, creating crucial circle entries. In the 18th minute, India won their first penalty corner of the match, but Navneet Kaur's shot was well saved by Italian goalkeeper Lucia Ines Caruso.
In the 27th minute, they were 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 wide.
In the early minutes of the second half, Italy launched a strong attack on goal, with Emilia Munitis through on goal, but India's goalkeeper Bichu Devi Kharibam made a crucial save. In the 40th minute, India were awarded yet another penalty corner, and this time they successfully converted it to break the deadlock. Manisha Chauhan (40') delivered a powerful dragflick down the middle that pierced through the Italian defence and found the net.
India won two early penalty corners in the final quarter as they pushed to increase their advantage, but Italy remained resilient with their defence. 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 equaliser and emerged victorious.
India will next face England in the final on March 14 at 7:30 PM IST.