India to face Ireland; hosts Spain will clash with Japan in the semis of the FIH Hockey Women's Nations Cup in Valencia

India, Spain, Japan and Ireland are through to the semifinals in the ongoing inaugural edition of the FIH Hockey Women's Nations Cup in Valencia. India will face Ireland, while Japan will take on the hosts Spain in the other semifinal on December 16.

India have maintained a clean slate in league matches and are considered hot favorite to win the title in Valencia. In the last league match on Wednesday, India beat South Africa 2-0 to top Pool B with nine points. In their opening league match, the Women in Blue beat Chile 3-1 and defeated Japan 2-1 in their subsequent league encounter.

In the latest outing against South Africa, Deep Grace Ekka (13th minute) and Gurjit Kaur (58th minute) scored for India. Indian dragflickers, though, managed to convert a penalty corner in the opening 13 minutes but missed a couple of penalty corners as the match progressed.

Gurjit Kaur missed a penalty corner in the second quarter as she hit the ball wide of the post. However, Gurjit managed to convert one in the closing stages of the match. India could have won by a big margin but South Africa's goalkeeper Anelle van Deventer saved as many as seven shots on target, including penalty corners.

Deepa Grace Ekka, who was awarded player of the match, said, penalty corners were something we talked about and practiced a lot before this game because we hadn't executed them the way we wanted to in the first two games.

“We will come prepared for Ireland in the semifinals,” Deep Grace Ekka told the FIH website after the match against South Africa.

Japan played a 1-1 draw with Chile in their last league match to ensure a place in the last four stages of the tournament.

Hosts Spain failed to score in their last league match against Italy as both teams played a goalless draw. It will be interesting to see how the Spanish team tackles the Japanese team in the semifinals.

Both Ireland and Korea knew coming into the game what they needed from the last game to qualify for the semifinals. Ireland played their heart-out to earn a semifinal slot. A win would have been much more heartening but a 2-all also ensured them a place in the semis.