New Delhi : Indian women beat Italy 1-0 in a must-win encounter of the 
Olympic qualifying tournament for hockey on Friday in New Delhi to reach the final against South Africa that will be played on Saturday.
Ritu Rani’s final tap in a goal-mouth melee off a penalty corner in the 55th minute earned India victory against an Italian team that was evidently playing for a draw.
The Italians, who needed just a draw to go through, played most of the game inside their half to deny space to the Indian forwards.
However, it proved costly in the end for the visitors, who will now play the 3rd-4th place qualification match against Ukraine.
Earlier in the day, South Africa beat Canada 4-1 in an inconsequential match to finish on top of the table.
Also Ukraine beat Poland to finish fourth at the end of the round-robin stage.
Those two results meant Canada and Poland will now play for the 5th-6th place.
