FIH Olympic Qualifiers 2019: Here's all you need to know ahead of India's qualification matches in upcoming tournament

The Indian men’s hockey team will have to guard against complacency when it takes on lower-ranked Russia, while a tricky contest awaits their female counterparts against USA in the two-legged Olympic qualifiers here on Friday. Both the Indian teams are just two matches away from booking their tickets to Tokyo. [caption id=“attachment_6359821” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Indian hockey team. Image Courtesy: Twitter @TheHockeyIndia[/caption] While the Manpreet Singh-led men’s team is up against an easy opponent in World No 22 Russia, the Indian women have a relatively difficult task at hand as they face America in the final round of the FIH Olympic Qualifiers. Both the Indian teams will play back-to-back matches against Russia and USA on Friday and Saturday and the aggregate winners at the end of the two-match qualifier (each for men and women) will seal their places in the 2020 Tokyo Games. On paper, the Indian men, ranked fifth in the world, are expected to have a cakewalk against the Russians. But coach Graham Reid is very well aware that one bad day in office can ruin India’s Olympic dream. Ahead of the matches against Russia and America, here is all you need to know about the qualifier: Format The International Hockey Federation has introduced a new format for the qualifiers. The tournament will consist of 28 teams – 14 men’s and 14 women’s — taking part in seven qualifying matches each. The draw for the tournament had taken place in September, and three matches (both men and women) were already completed earlier in the past week. Spain, the Netherlands and Canada were the three men’s teams to qualify, while Spain, China and Belgium’s women’s teams also sealed their berths. The remaining four matches for men’s and women’s each will be played between 1 and 3 November. Which other teams have qualified? Japan have qualified for both men’s and women’s segments as hosts, while both the Argentina and South African teams also made into the main tournament via continental qualifiers. Belgium and Australia men’s teams also progressed in the men’s segment while the Netherlands and New Zealand women’s teams have also booked their tickets to Tokyo next year. When and where will India men’s and women’s teams play their two-legged matches? The India men’s team will face 20th ranked Russia in the first leg in Bhubaneshwar on 1 November, while the second leg will be played at the same venue on 2 November, with both the matches starting at 8 pm IST. The India women, meanwhile, will lock horns against the United States of America (USA) on the same days as the men’s teams, with their matches starting at 6 pm IST. Squads: India men’s squad: Manpreet Singh (Captain), SV Sunil (Vice-captain), Krishan Bahadur Pathak, PR Sreejesh, Rupinder Pal Singh, Harmanpreet Singh, Birendra Lakra, Gurinder Singh, Surender Kumar, Amit Rohidas, Hardik Singh, Nilakanta Sharma, Mandeep Singh, Vivek Sagar Prasad, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, Akashdeep Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Simranjeet Singh. India women’s squad: Rani Rampal (Captain), Savita (vice-captain) Deep Grace Ekka, Rajani Etimarpu, Gurjeet Kaur, Reena Khokhar, Sushila Chanu Pukhrambam, Salima Tete, Nikki Pradhan, Neha Goyal, Monica, Lilima Minz, Namita Toppo, Navneet Kaur, Navjot Kaur, Lalremsiami, Vandana Katariya, Sharmila Devi. With inputs from PTI.