Ranchi (Jharkhand), Jan 14 – Pan-Am Games bronze medallists Chile maintained their chances of making a maiden entry into the Olympic Games hockey competition with a commanding 6-0 victory over Czech Republic in the women’s FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifiers at the Marang Gomke Jaipal Singh Astro-Turf Hockey Stadium, here on Sunday.
Skipper Manuela Urroz slammed in a brace of goals, hitting the target in the 47th and 56th minutes while Consuelo De Las Heras (13th min), Camila Caram (38th min), Antonia Orchard Morales (44th min) and Maria Maldonado (58th min) contributed a goal apiece to the Chile scoreline as they recovered from their 3-0 defeat to Germany in their opening match on Saturday.
Sunday’s win keeps Chile in the hunt and sets up a direct shoot-out for the semis spot with Japan, who defeated the Czech Republic on Saturday, as these two teams jostle for the second spot behind Germany, a second successive defeat means the Czech Republic are out of the race for a place in the last-four.
Slamming half-a-dozen goals past the Czech Republic on the second day of action bodes well for Chile as it will come in handy in case of a tie on points for the second position.
Known as the Las Diablas, Chile’s senior national women’s hockey team had a good start and took control of the game early but it could manage only one goal in the first half.
Coach Sergio Vigil’s pep talk in the break seems to have worked wonders as they scored five goals in the second session, giving themselves the advantage. Chile were aggressive in the second half, controlled the midfield and capitalised on their chances better than in the first half. They earned six penalty corners and converted two of them. Skipper Manuela Urroz was the best player on the field on Sunday as the Las Diablas continued their resurgence in international hockey.
The team usually does not get to play European opponents, except in the FIH events and used the opportunity to register a big win.
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