In the women’s quarterfinals on Tuesday, Australia will play Italy; New Zealand will take on Japan; India take on the formidable Netherlands and Belgium will play Korea. The Koreans have already secured their Olympic ticket by winning Gold at the 2014 Asian Games, but they may still be aiming for the top-four finish in Antwerp to qualify for the prestigious HWL Final in Argentina in year end.
In the men’s draw, Australia had the best performance in Group A winning all their four matches with 26 goals scored against their opponents while conceding just 3. India was second with two victories, one loss and a drawn game against Pakistan. Pakistan and France took the third and fourth places. The Group B was topped by hosts Belgium with Great Britain, Malaysia and Ireland taking the secod, third and fiurth places respectively. In Wednesday’s quarterfinals, Australia will take on Ireland; Great Britain will play Pakistan, India squares off with Malaysia and Belgium will fight out with France.
As for Indian men’s performance in the tournament, they have faced their only defeat against the Australians, who play machine-like hockey. Against their quarterfinal opponents Malaysia, they lost to them in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup 2015. But with a new coach and improved performance, India would try their best to avenge that defeat against their Asian counterparts.
As for women, they have a formidable opponent in the Netherlands but the team is not dispirited. Though the India women lost 2-4 against Australia, their overall performance was not so bad and therefore, they should be able to counter the challenge posed by the Dutchwomen on Wednesday.