Tokyo Olympics: Dutee Chand congratulates Indian hockey team for storming into semis

India's star sprinter Dutee Chand has come forward and congratulated the Indian women's hockey team after they beat multiple-time gold medalists Australia 1-0 in the quarterfinals of the Tokyo Olympics women's hockey event on Monday to secure a place in the semi-finals.

The Indian team scored the only goal of this contest which was good enough to decide the fate of this knockout clash.

Tokyo Olympics: Dutee Chand congratulates the Indian women's hockey team

Taking to the micro-blogging site, Dutee Chand had posted an image of the Manpreet Singh-led side along with the entire support staff where they can be seen posing for a photograph after an emphatic win.

Dutee then went on to congratulate both the men's and women's hockey teams on qualifying for the semi-finals of the ongoing edition of the quadrennial event. She then mentioned that hockey is always a special team for her. Dutee Chand then gave a special mention to the Chief Minister of Odisha Naveen Patnaik promoting hockey and becoming the first state in the country to sponsor a national team.

In another tweet, the Arjuna Awardee had also posted an image of Rani Rampal & Co. posing with the support staff of their team.

Earlier on Monday, Dutee Chand had finished seventh in 200m Heat. In fact, she finished last in her heat which halted her progress as a result of which the athlete was unable to qualify for the semi-finals.

Tokyo Olympics: Indian women's team knock out mighty Australia

It was Gurjit Kaur who drew first blood for India in the first penalty corner with just six minutes left in the second half. Both teams had kept each other at bay in the first half which ended in a stalemate. In fact, India had dominated in the first quarter as they had nearly 60% of the ball possession.

At the same time, the defence was brilliant as well as they held on to their nerves brilliantly and ensured that there were no further hiccups, and at the same time, did not allow the Australians to capitalise and take advantage in any manner whatsoever. Goalie Savita Rani made an outstanding save in the final quarter as the Australian women's team just could not succeed in finding the back of the net as the Indians celebrated in delight once the final whistle blew.

Coming into the match, the odds were completely stacked against India as in world no.2 Australia, a mighty unbeaten opponent, awaited them in the last-eight round. However, the Indian women's team brought their A-game on the day when it mattered the most and knocked the three-time Olympic champions out of the competition.

Rani Rampal & Co. will now be up against Argentina in a high-voltage semi-final clash as they inch a step closer towards medal contention in this edition of the prestigious tournament.

Argentina outclassed the 2016 Rio Olympics bronze medalists Germany 3-0 on Monday as they successfully made it to the last-four of the quadrennial event for the first time since the 2012 edition that was held in London where Las Leonas had finished as the second-best side by winning the silver medal.