Hana takahashi

Olympic Qualifying Tournament Round: India failed to withstand a second-half storm against former World Cup champions Japan in their first match of the AFC Women’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament Round 2, losing 0-7 at the Lokomotiv Stadium, on Thursday.

Indian Women's team head coach Thomas Dennerby had set up a low block, playing a 5-3-2 formation, a strategy that worked well for the first 45 minutes, managing to keep the scoreline to a minimum of 0-1 at the breather.

The majority of the defensive work fell on the shoulders of centrebacks Ashalata Devi, Sweety Devi and Ritu Rani, central midfielders Sangita Basfore, Shilky Devi and Indumathi Kathiresan, who had their work cut out inside their own penalty area.