<p>Eight-time winners India qualified for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics after thrashing Russia 7-1 (11-3 on aggregate) in the second game of the two-legged FIH Qualifiers for men here on Saturday.</p>.<p>The men’s team booked their tickets after the women defeated USA 6-5 on aggregate to qualify for the sporting extravaganza.</p>.<p>The Indian men, ranked fifth in the world, had earlier defeated World No. 22 Russia 4-2 in the first-leg on Friday.</p>.<p>On Saturday, Akashdeep Singh (23rd and 29th minutes) and Rupinder Pal Singh (48th, 59th) scored a brace each, while Lalit Upadhyay (17th), Nilkanta Sharma (47th) and Amit Rohidas (60th) struck after Russia took an early lead in the opening minute through Alexey Sobolevskiy.</p>.<p>The Russians stunned India 25 seconds into the game when Sobolevskiy opened the scoring to reduce the goal difference to just one.</p>.<p>The Indians were slow to get off the blocks and it took seven minutes for the hosts to get their first scoring opportunity in the form of a penalty corner, but it was wasted. After a sedate start, the Indians intensified the pressure on Russia’s goal but were unable to create clear chances. Russia, on the other hand, looked dangerous on counter-attacks as the hosts trailed by a goal in the opening quarter.</p>.<p>India equalised in the 21st minute through a field strike by Lalit Upadhyay, who deflected in a Hardik Singh shot.</p>.<p>The Indians upped their ante and took the lead in the 23rd minute when Akashdeep scored following a penalty corner.</p>.<p>There was no stopping India after that as they kept up the pressure on the Russian defence and mounted quite a few attacks.</p>.<p>Graham Reid’s men extended their lead just a minute from half time when Akashdeep scored his second goal of the game through individual brilliance.</p>.<p>India went into the halfway break with a comfortable 7-3 lead over Russia on aggregate, courtesy three strikes in the second quarter.</p>.<p>Five minutes after the change of ends, Alexander Skiperskiy narrowly missed the target after a beautiful teamwork by the Russians.</p>.<p>In the 44th minute, Ramandeep Singh missed a big opportunity to increase India’s lead as his attempt went wide.</p>.<p>There was no stopping the Indians after the initial hiccup as they added four more goals in the final quarter to add to Russia’s agony.</p>.<p>Nilakanta scored with a powerful shot into the top left angle of the goal in the 47th minute before Rupinder converted a penalty corner in the very next minute.</p>
<p>Eight-time winners India qualified for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics after thrashing Russia 7-1 (11-3 on aggregate) in the second game of the two-legged FIH Qualifiers for men here on Saturday.</p>.<p>The men’s team booked their tickets after the women defeated USA 6-5 on aggregate to qualify for the sporting extravaganza.</p>.<p>The Indian men, ranked fifth in the world, had earlier defeated World No. 22 Russia 4-2 in the first-leg on Friday.</p>.<p>On Saturday, Akashdeep Singh (23rd and 29th minutes) and Rupinder Pal Singh (48th, 59th) scored a brace each, while Lalit Upadhyay (17th), Nilkanta Sharma (47th) and Amit Rohidas (60th) struck after Russia took an early lead in the opening minute through Alexey Sobolevskiy.</p>.<p>The Russians stunned India 25 seconds into the game when Sobolevskiy opened the scoring to reduce the goal difference to just one.</p>.<p>The Indians were slow to get off the blocks and it took seven minutes for the hosts to get their first scoring opportunity in the form of a penalty corner, but it was wasted. After a sedate start, the Indians intensified the pressure on Russia’s goal but were unable to create clear chances. Russia, on the other hand, looked dangerous on counter-attacks as the hosts trailed by a goal in the opening quarter.</p>.<p>India equalised in the 21st minute through a field strike by Lalit Upadhyay, who deflected in a Hardik Singh shot.</p>.<p>The Indians upped their ante and took the lead in the 23rd minute when Akashdeep scored following a penalty corner.</p>.<p>There was no stopping India after that as they kept up the pressure on the Russian defence and mounted quite a few attacks.</p>.<p>Graham Reid’s men extended their lead just a minute from half time when Akashdeep scored his second goal of the game through individual brilliance.</p>.<p>India went into the halfway break with a comfortable 7-3 lead over Russia on aggregate, courtesy three strikes in the second quarter.</p>.<p>Five minutes after the change of ends, Alexander Skiperskiy narrowly missed the target after a beautiful teamwork by the Russians.</p>.<p>In the 44th minute, Ramandeep Singh missed a big opportunity to increase India’s lead as his attempt went wide.</p>.<p>There was no stopping the Indians after the initial hiccup as they added four more goals in the final quarter to add to Russia’s agony.</p>.<p>Nilakanta scored with a powerful shot into the top left angle of the goal in the 47th minute before Rupinder converted a penalty corner in the very next minute.</p>