Bhubaneswar: 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.
The Indian men, ranked fifth in the world, had earlier defeated world number 22 Russia 4-2 in the first-leg on Friday.
The Russians stunned India 25 seconds into the game when Sobolevskiy opened the scoring to reduce the goal difference to just one.
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.
India equalised in the 21st minute through a field strike by Lalit Upadhyay, who deflected in a Hardik Singh shot.
The Indians upped their ante and took the lead in the 23rd minute when Akashdeep scored following a penalty corner.
There was no stopping India after that as they kept up the pressure on the Russian defence and mounted quite a few attacks.
Rani's late goal seals Tokyo ticket for women despite losing 1-4 to US
Skipper Rani Rampal's 48th minute strike sealed Tokyo Olympics berth for the Indian women's hockey team as they pipped USA 6-5 on aggregate despite losing 1-4 in the second leg of the FIH Qualifier here on Saturday.
After thrashing USA 5-1 on Friday, it was expected to be a formality for the Indian women but they were given a real scare by the USA women, who raced to a 4-0 lead at the halfway mark.
However the partisan fans went into raptures when Rani pulled one back to maintain the slender lead till final hooter.
Indian women have now qualified for back-to-back Olympics having sealed it in Rio de Janeiro after a gap of 36 years. The women's team first participated in the Quadrennial extavaganza in 1980 where the men's team last won their gold medal.
On Saturday, Indian women looked a pale shadow of themselves as USA took full advantage of their complacency during the first two quarters.
The Indians played catch-up hockey and found it difficult to counter USA's persistent attacks from the onset. It was a completely different scenario from Friday's match as the Indians were found wanting, struggling to get the control of the ball.
Locked at 5-5 on aggregate scoreline, it took an inspirational strike from Rani in the 48th minute from a loose ball to reduce the margin and hand India the vital lead.
The Americans were awarded a penalty corner four minutes from full time but the decision was overturned after India went for the referral.
