India finished ninth in the World Cup
[ad_1]
Rourkela Host nation India on Saturday secured the ninth spot in the FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup 2023 tournament by defeating South Africa 5-2 in the classification match.
Lighting up the Birsa Munda International Hockey Stadium, Abhishek (4th minute), Harmanpreet Singh (11th minute),
Shamsher Singh (44th minute), Akashdeep Singh (48th minute) and Sukhjit Singh (58th minute) scored for the hosts. South Africa’s goals were scored by Samkelo Wimby (48th) and Mustafa Kassim (60th).
With this win, India tied with Argentina for ninth place in the tournament on home soil. South Africa shared 11th place with Wales. In the race for the ninth spot, India started making inroads into the South African half from the very first minute. It paid off in the fourth minute when Abhishek found the ball in the South African half and fired it into the net. India proved too quick for the opposition in this quarter and earned a penalty corner in the 11th minute amid several attempts. Harmanpreet doubled India’s lead by converting this corner.
After taking a two-goal lead, India played aggressively in the second quarter earning three penalty corners, though they could not make any further changes to the scoreboard before half-time. After half time, South Africa showed the better side and earned a penalty corner in the very first minute. Amit Rohidas was sent off the field for 10 minutes after being shown a yellow card in the 33rd minute, leaving the Indian defense down to one player. South Africa earned a penalty corner in the same minute, before coming close to scoring a field goal in the 35th minute. The Indian defense, however, did not allow the ball to reach the net both times.
Just before the end of the quarter, Shamsher got India’s third breakthrough. Abhishek took an aerial pass in the South African half to Shamsher, who fired the ball into the net to make it 3-0 for India. Akashdeep and Sukhjeet scored for India in the last 12 minutes of the match. Both South Africa’s goals also came during this period, but these goals could only reduce the difference between victory and defeat.
[ad_2]
Source link
