Hockey: Japan, Azerbaijan win in qualifiers

KAKAMIGAHARA: Forward Kaori Fujio scored a hat-trick to lead Japan to an 8-0 thrashing of Malaysia in the women’s hockey final qualifying tournament for the London Olympics. The Japanese women, who whitewashed Austria 7-0 in the opener on Wednesday, started a six-goal onslaught in the second half for their second straight win in the six-team round robin competition. Azerbaijan defeated Belarus 3-0 earlier in the day also for their second straight win, but remained in second place behind Japan. In the last game of the day, Denise Infante scored twice in the second half to help Chile beat Austria 3-0 for their first win. The top two teams in the round robin will face each other in the final, vying for the last ticket to London.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 28^th, 2012.