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Lalremsiami stays on for FIH Series Finals despite bereavement

Lalremsiami (left) in action against Italy at the World Cup in London. Alex Pantling/Getty Images

Indian women's hockey striker Lalremsiami has opted to stay on with the team for their knockout games at the FIH Series Finals in Hiroshima, despite a bereavement in her family. ESPN understands her father, Lalthansanga Zote, died of a heart attack in the early hours of Friday.

The 19-year-old Siami, who has scored two of India's 20 goals in the pool stages of the tournament, has completed 50 international caps in 2019.

India face Chile in the semi-finals of the tournament on Saturday, and a win will confirm a berth in the 2020 Olympic qualifiers scheduled for October.

Captain Rani Rampal said that the team was behind the young forward and determined to win the tournament. "It is obviously the toughest moment for Lalremsiami, but all of us in the team are doing our best to support her," she said. "It is difficult but we have to deal with this as a team and as a family. The team and support staff are there to support her in this difficult moment."

Top-ranked India have only conceded one goal in the pool stages, having beaten Uruguay 4-1, Poland 5-0 and Fiji 11-0 in their Pool A games. Chile had to play the crossovers after finishing second behind Russia in their pool, but comfortably beat Uruguay 5-2 to book their place in the semis.

The match, which will push back at 12:15pm IST, will be available for live streaming on the international hockey federation's FIH.live website.