It was a case of mad dogs and Englishwomen as England faced Australia in the sweltering heat of Delhi in their semi final match against Australia. With temperatures hitting 34c, England seemed to fade after getting off to a promising start. The match was decided by a single goal, scored three minutes into the second half by Australia's captain, Madonna Blyth.
England will meet South Africa for the bronze medal on Wednesday. South Africa lost their semi-final match against New Zealand, played at the more sensible time of 5.30pm, thanks to a penalty corner conversion by New Zealand's Clarrissa Eshuis. Final score 1-0 to New Zealand. The Blacksticks will meet the Hockeyroos in the final on Wednesday.
Scotland and Wales also played today to decide the 7th place, although the Scots' celebrations after the match might have led you to believe they had finished higher. The match was decided on penalty strokes after Emma Griffiths equalised for Wales in the 9th minute, after Scotland's Alisa Robertson had given them an early lead. After no further score in either normal or extra time, the Welsh were let down by their penalty shooting and lost the penalty stroke competition 1-3.
In the other place matches, India take fifth place by beating Canada 3-0. Trinidad & Tobago won their first match of the tournament when they beat Malaysia 2-1 to secure ninth place.
Full results and tables are on our main web site at http://www.talkhockeyradio.co.uk/page41.html.
