USA women's field hockey team handed tough draw in Paris Olympics 2024, drawn alongside Argentina and Australia
The USA women's field hockey team has been handed a formidable draw for the upcoming 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, scheduled from July 27 to August 9, 2024. They find themselves in Group B, alongside Argentina, Australia, Great Britain, Spain, and South Africa.
USA’s major challenge will be against Argentina and Great Britain, who were the silver and bronze medalists from the last edition’s Games in Tokyo. They will also face stiff competition from Australia, the second-most successful nation in the history of the Games.
Although the Aussies couldn’t advance to the semis in the last edition after losing to India in the quarters in a thriller, they performed flawlessly in the group stage by topping Group B and winning all five games. This time, they will look to achieve a higher position as they aim for their fourth title in Paris.
The International Hockey Federation (FIH) revealed the draw on its website. For both men's and women's events, the teams have been divided based on their FIH World rankings as of January 21, 2024, without any seeding. The global governing body of the sport formed the groups in the following manner:
Group A - First, fourth, fifth, eighth, ninth, and twelfth-ranked teams
Group B - Second, third, sixth, seventh, tenth, and eleventh-ranked teams
The U.S. women’s team qualified for the Paris Olympics 2024 during the 2024 FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifiers in Ranchi after becoming one of the two finalists of the competition.
On their way to the final, they defeated the then higher-ranked teams like Japan in the semi-final and stunned India and New Zealand in the group stage. With this, the team will now return to the Olympic Games in Paris after failing to qualify at the Summer Olympics in Tokyo in 2020.
The USA has medalled once in the history of the Olympics
The U.S. women’s field hockey team has made an appearance in six editions of the Olympic Games. However, they have won just one medal in the event’s history, clinching the bronze at the 1984 Los Angeles Games.
The medal was special because they were not only the hosts but also debuted in that edition. They were also a part of the 1988, 1996 (host), 2008, 2012, and 2016 editions of the event.