New Delhi: Unbeaten India dashed Poland's hopes of reaching the final of the Olympic qualifiers with their fifth straight victory to set up a summit clash with France. The hosts beat the Poles 4-2 in their final league encounter.
The match that was played at a breathtaking pace saw end-to-end stuff as both the teams went for a kill. However, Poland needed just a draw to leave France behind on goal difference, but despite coming back to level the match at 2-2, their defence failed to hold on and conceded two more goals before the full-time whistle.
The nine penalty corners (PC) India earned confirmed their attacking intent, but they converted just three of those, leaving work for coach Michael Nobbs before the final.
Poland went ahead in the 13th minute with a PC conversion from Tomasz Dutkiewicz but India equalised before the break through PC specialist Sandeep Singh in the 26th minute to make it 1-1 before half-time.
Shivendra's sixth goal of the tournament made it 2-1 in the 59th but Poland equalised through Miroslaw Juszczak four minutes later to draw level. India then went on the offensive and earned their eighth PC in the 65th minute, which VR Raghunath converted to give India a 3-2lead.
Sandeep's 11th goal of the tournament off India's ninth PC in the 70th minute turned the scoreline into a formidable 4-2. The ace penalty corner specialist continues to be the leading scorer of the tournament and will be a major threat for France in the final. India had beaten France with a comfortable margin of 6-2 in the league phase.
Earlier in the day, France held Canada to a 1-1 draw to earn a crucial point that took their tally one ahead of Poland to 10. It assured the Frenchmen a second-place finish and thus a place in the final. Poland will now place a 3rd-4th place qualification match against Canada, who finished fourth with seven points. Meanwhile, Italy and Singapore will fight to avoid a last-place finish in the qualifiers.
The final between India and France will be played on Sunday at 8 p.m. (IST).
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