Indian hockey suffered a severe setback as the men's squad was eliminated from the FIH Men's Hockey World Cup on Sunday, January 22, after losing to New Zealand in a crossover game. The game ended in a thrilling penalty shootout, where the Black Sticks won in the sudden death round.
Before the end of normal time, the Black Sticks tied the score after the Indian side had led 2-0 and then 3-1 in the game. The Indian team was on the verge of being eliminated in the first round of the penalty shootout's five tries. With a 3-2 advantage, New Zealand just needed to score one on their final two chances to advance to the quarterfinals. The experienced PR Sreejesh, however, stopped New Zealand's last two efforts to keep India alive, and Sukhjeet Singh successfully converted India's final sally to force a sudden death duel.
Both sides made four tries in the sudden death round before Shamsher Singh's miss put an end to India's Hockey World Cup run.
Indian hockey squad outperformed New Zealand in the opening period.
India's performance was certain to suffer because Hardik Singh was absent from this game. It had already done so in the contest with Wales, and it would undoubtedly have more of an effect on a significant team like New Zealand. However, the first quarter appeared to be going well. India appeared steady and provided some wonderful opportunities. However, as New Zealand was able to avoid any costly errors, there were no goals. It appeared that India had moved the in-form forward Akashdeep Singh towards the middle of the field to replace Hardik. He gave the defence a lot of assistance in the first half, just as in prior games.
Because Hardik Singh was not there for this game, India's performance was guaranteed to suffer. It had already done so during the match against Wales, and a major team like New Zealand would definitely feel the effects more keenly. However, it seemed like the first quarter was going nicely. India seemed reliable and offered some fantastic prospects. There were no goals, though, as New Zealand was successful in avoiding any costly mistakes. In order to replace Hardik, it looked that India had shifted the dynamic forward Akashdeep Singh to the centre of the field. Like in previous games, he assisted the defence greatly in the first half.
The Indian team goes haywire in the second half.
The 2-1 margin at the interval gave Indian supporters much to worry about. The situation worsened in the second half. As both sides launched successive attacks, the game turned into an end-to-end contest While Mandeep Singh, who was quite active in the first half, vanished, maybe owing to injury, the Indian side was able to reposition Akashdeep in the aggressive front.
The biggest concern for India, though, was their failure to maintain possession of the ball, particularly in the middle of the field. Too quickly, New Zealand launched attacks and encroached towards Indian last 25 territory. However, they were able to widen their lead before that could cause issues for the home team. India offered Amit Rohidas and Varun Kumar plenty of opportunities to try their drag-flicks because Harmanpreet failed to convert PCs and variations did not work. In the 41st minute, Varun scored with one of his tries after his shot went in between the keeper's legs.
The happiness was fleeting, though, as the Black Sticks scored their second goal in the 44th minute on a penalty corner of their own. It did so in the 50th minute when Findlay converted yet another PC for New Zealand after the Indian runners once more failed to stop the opposing attackers.
India's performance in the last minutes was awful. There didn't seem to be much self-assurance, order, link-up play, or rational thought. No player appeared confident in winning one-on-one contests; passes were simply tossed without someone to receive them; and free hits were taken blindly.
But all it did was postpone the beginning of pain. The most offensive part of the shootout was Harmanpreet Singh's attempt on India's opening shot in the sudden death round. In the sudden death round, Sreejesh stopped New Zealand's first try for the third time in a row.
As a result, India would have advanced to the quarterfinals if Harmanpreet had scored, as he did in the first round of the shootout. With the exception of Rajkumar Pal, the Indian players' jittery temperament during the shootout was stunning.
Article by:- Shashank Subramani
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