Hockey World Cup 2023: India lost to New Zealand in penalty shootout, dreams of winning title after 48 years shattered, PHOTOS
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FIH Hockey World Cup 2023: being played in Odisha FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup India on Sunday crashed out of the title race after losing 4-5 in the penalty shootout of the crossover match against New Zealand. The match ended in a 3-3 draw in regular time. With this defeat, India’s dream of winning the World Cup title after 48 years also ended. Out of the title race, the Indian team will now face Japan for consolation.
The Indian team, ranked sixth in the world, could not perform to their level in front of nearly 15,000 home supporters and after taking a 2-0 lead at one stage in the opening half, gave New Zealand a chance to make a comeback. Lalit Upadhyay (17th minute), Sukhjit Singh (24th) and Varun Kumar (40th) scored for India. Sam Lane (28th) scored a field goal for New Zealand, while Ken Russell (43rd) and Sean Findlay (49th) converted a penalty corner. In the penalty shootout, the score was tied after the first five sets of strikes, and the match eventually went out of India’s hands in ‘sudden death’.
Captain Harmanpreet Singh had a golden chance to win India in ‘Sudden Death’ but he failed to score. Experienced goalkeeper PR Sreejesh pulled off some brilliant saves to put India down 2-3. After this he got injured during another rescue in ‘Sudden Death’. After this, Krishna Pathak played the role of goalkeeper in the next three rounds of ‘Sudden Death’. In the end, Shamsher Singh missed the goal and Sam Lane gave New Zealand the victory by scoring a goal. In regulation time, India earned 11 penalty corners and converted two of them, while New Zealand got only two penalty corners.
India got many chances to score but the front line lacked finishing skills. India took an aggressive approach from the start of the match and Mandeep Singh, who was injured during practice, performed brilliantly in the circle of New Zealand. India soon doubled the lead in the 24th minute when Sukhjit Singh scored from the fourth penalty corner. Harmanpreet’s drag-flick was blocked by the New Zealand goalkeeper but Sukhjeet converted a brilliant chance on the rebound. New Zealand struck back a minute before half-time with a goal from Sam Lane. He hit the player’s cross with the team to the left of the Indian goal post. New Zealand’s team was ahead 2-1 at the time of interval.
New Zealand pressed for a draw in the third quarter, getting into the Indian ‘D’ on a few occasions, but the home side converted a penalty corner in the 41st minute to take a two-goal lead. India earned three penalty corners in the third quarter, in which Varun Kumar converted the third chance. Ken Russell converted a penalty corner just a minute later, leaving India with a one-goal lead.
In the last quarter, New Zealand showed strong spirit and earned a penalty corner during the 49th minute of the game. Hayden Phillips’ strike was converted into a goal by Sean Findlay to equalize the score. Goalkeeper Krishna Pathak made a brilliant save after one minute on the mistake of the Indian defense and saved the team from falling behind. In the quarter-finals, New Zealand will now face the current world champion Belgium.
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