India routed Mexico 18-1 to remain unbeaten along with Great Britain at the men's Olympic field hockey qualifying tournament in Chile on Tuesday.
Also, Britain overcame host Chile 4-1, and Austria edged Russia 5-4.
Only one team will qualify for Beijing, and Britain and India, both multiple Olympic champions, are heavily favored to meet in Sunday's final. They meet today in the round robin.
PHOTO: EPA
Britain has won three Olympic titles, while India has won a record eight and hasn't missed a games since its debut in 1928.
They have nine points each, Austria six, and Chile three through three rounds, while Russia and Mexico are winless.
On Tuesday, Rajpal Singh and VR Raghunath scored five goals each for India, four of Raghunath's from penalty corners. Prabhjot Singh added four to give him a tournament-leading seven.
PHOTO: EPA
In the last minute, Pol Moreno Quiroz scored Mexico's first goal in three matches.
Chile, the only team yet to play in an Olympic Games, conceded nothing to Britain in a scoreless first half. The drought wasn't broken until the 42nd minute, when Richard Mantell scored from a penalty corner.
Esteban Kranz leveled for Chile five minutes later but three minutes after that Barry Middleton notched the go-ahead goal, and James Tindall scored twice to finish off.
A couple of Dmitry Azarov goals helped Russia lead Austria 3-2 with less than 20 minutes to go. But the first of Peter Proksch's pair equalized as Austria scored three straight, including Michael Korper's second from a penalty corner, to lead 5-3 five minutes from time.
Today, Austria meet Mexico, and Chile play Russia.
SIBLING RIVALRY: Marc Marquez was locked in a duel with his little brother, falling behind at one point before recovering for his first season-opening victory since 2014 Six-time world champion Marc Marquez yesterday won the MotoGP season-opening Thailand Grand Prix to complete a dominant debut weekend at his new Ducati Lenovo Team, having also romped to Saturday’s sprint. The Spanish great took the 26-lap grand prix by 1.732 seconds for his 63rd MotoGP victory from younger brother Alex Marquez, who is still seeking a first checkered flag, with Francesco Bagnaia third to complete an all-Ducati podium. It completed a perfect weekend for Marc Marquez, who took pole position, the sprint victory and the grand prix win for a maximum 37 points to open the 22-leg 2025 campaign. He led from
AC Milan’s slender hopes of reaching next season’s UEFA Champions League took another hit on Thursday with a 2-1 defeat at Bologna which left them eight points from Serie A’s top four. Sergio Conceicao’s team sit eighth, some way behind fourth-placed Juventus after losing an entertaining contest at the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara, a match which was rescheduled from October last year due to torrential rain and flooding. Swathes of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy, much of which is fertile agricultural land, had been left under water following a massive autumn downpour. Dan Ndoye prodded home the decisive goal in the 82nd minute
Former Australian motorcycle gang member-turned-golfer Ryan Peake, who served a lengthy jail term for assault, yesterday produced a “life-changing” maiden win to qualify for The Open Championship. Peake held his nerve for a one-stroke victory at the New Zealand Open, earning him a berth at the major in Portrush, Northern Ireland, in July, pending clearance to travel as a convicted criminal. The 31-year-old from Perth celebrated animatedly and was showered with champagne by friends on the 18th green of the Millbrook Resort course near Queenstown after a redemption story rarely seen in the refined sport of golf. Peake held back tears as he
MILWAUKEE PREVAIL: Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 28 points as the Bucks withstood Nikola Jokic’s 27th triple-double of the season to beat the Nuggets Golden State star Stephen Curry on Thursday drilled 12 three-pointers in a scintillating 56-point display that carried the Warriors to a 121-115 victory over the Orlando Magic. Curry’s explosive performance helped the Warriors dig themselves out of a 17-point hole, with the point guard signaling the start of the fightback with a three-pointer from beyond the half-court line to end the first half that pulled the Warriors within 66-52 at the break. In the third quarter, he single-handedly outscored the Magic with 22 points to Orlando’s 21. The four-time NBA champion finished two three-pointers shy of former teammate Klay Thompson’s record for most
RSS