India fail to qualify for Paris Olympics after loss to Japan

The Indian women's hockey team failed to qualify for the Paris Olympics after going down 0-1 to Japan in the third-fourth place match of the FIH Olympic Qualifier here on Friday. Kana Urata scored for Japan off a penalty corner in the first quarter and they kept the lead intact till the end of the match while Indians failed to find the target.

India were left with no choice but to win this game after suffering a 3-4 defeat in shootout to Germany on Thursday.

But a bigger heartbreak awaited the home team as it lost and failed to book a ticket to Paris after a historic fourth-place finish at the Tokyo Games in 2021.