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#1 India 1-4 USA (6-5 Aggregate) (Women's Olympic Qualifiers 2nd Leg)
Fans rejoiced at the Kalinga Stadium and elsewhere as Rani Rampal led her team out before the commencement of the second leg of the crucial Olympic Qualifiers.
After all, Sjoerd Marijne's chargers had done the groundwork by beating the American girls by a 5-1 margin in the first leg - a four-goal cushion, it seemed, was more than adequate to see the Indians qualify for Tokyo.
The Indians had been a bit lucky in the first leg with the Americans missing some sitters- and the visitors had looked to be the better team, in the opinion of some.
"India may be better today - but maybe we will score the goals," said USA coach Jannekke Schopman in the pre-match interview but few took her seriously.
The Americans began the match with a surge of pace and energy that the hosts found hard to match. Magadan scored as early as the fifth minute while Kathleen Sharkey continued to lead the way for her team scoring a second before the end of the first quarter.
Even so, Indian fans believed that a goal for their team was just around the corner - but that was not to be.
Alyssa Parker got the final touch after a superlative field goal to score the third for the USA as the shell-shocked Indians looked on.
The mayhem continued with Magadan scoring a fourth which meant the visitors had restored parity as the silent Kalinga crowd prayed for a change in the script.
The Indians tightened up at the back in the second half and were a lot tidier on the pitch as the USA were unable to sustain the momentum - but Marijne's team still needed a goal to prevent a shootout.
Captain Rani Rampal's 49th-minute effort brought an entire nation to its feet as the jubilant Indians heaved a collective sigh of relief - the second-leg had been lost, but Mission 2019 was achieved after all - and that was all that mattered.
