The Indian women’s hockey team will not go to the Paris Olympics after losing to Japan 1-0 in the third-place playoff at the FIH Olympic qualifier in Ranchi on Friday evening.

Japan took the lead halfway through the first quarter when Kana Urata converted a penalty corner. They subsequently played a deep and determined defense the entire game, leaving India with no answers for their organization and structure.

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India had nine penalty corners, but none of them were converted. India possessed all the possession and the territorial advantage for the previous three quarters, but they were unable to convert that advantage into a goal as Japan put their patience to the test and prevailed.

India appeared to have succumbed to the mental and physical strain of their semifinal shootout loss to Germany on Thursday night, as they were behind early in the opening quarter of the match.

As she sought to kick the goal away, Captain Savita Punia may reflect on the one that India gave up and feel that she could have performed better.

As the minutes passed, India stopped depending on a strategy and began to hit the ball in the circle in the hopes that it would fall to them.

They performed like a unit under duress, snatching at their finishes and misfiring on hits inside the circle.

Strangely, Janneke Schopman chose not to substitute her goalie so that Japan could play with an extra outfield player even though the team was down to ten players due to a late green card. This was despite the fact that it was obvious that the ten outfield players on the field were at a loss for a response.

After unsuccessful campaigns at the World Cup in 2022 and the Asian Games in 2023, Olympic qualification seems like the absolute minimum to achieve. A tearful end in Ranchi might very well mean trouble for Schopman’s term as India’s coach.

India had their chances in Ranchi this week, but they fell short in crucial situations. Nevertheless, one cannot hold Japan’s spot in Paris responsible for the way they followed their strategy, frustrated India, and ultimately won this match.