Indian men's hockey team knocked out of World Cup 2023
India's campaign in the ongoing Hockey World Cup came to an end against New Zealand in the crossover match on Sunday. With the scores leveled 3-3 post full time, India lost the penalty shootout by a scoreline of 4-5 to conclude what looked like a promising run. New Zealand will now face Pool B table-toppers, Belgium, in the quarter-finals on January 24. Here's more.
How did the match pan out?
Lalit Upadhyay put the hosts 1-0 up in the second quarter. India soon had a goal disallowed, but Sukhjeet Singh doubled the lead off a rebound. NZ, however, cut down the deficit near half-time. Varun Kumar added India's third, but NZ sneaked in a second through a penalty. Sean Findlay helped NZ draw parity before full-time.
India lose 4-5 in the shootout
Harmanpreet Singh scored India's opener, while Nic Woods scored for NZ. Rajkumar Pal and Findlay made their opportunities count for India and NZ, respectively. Abhishek missed the mark, while Hayden Phillips converted to put NZ 3-2 in lead. Shamsher Singh and Sam Lane missed their respective opportunities. Harmanpreet and Rajkumar stepped up again. Later, Shamsher missed the retake, resulting in India losing the shootout.
India's performance at the Hockey World Cup
India last won the tournament in 1975, finishing second and third in 1973 and 1971, respectively Team India exited in the quarter-finals of the 2018 edition. As per TOI, this was the first instance since 1982 of India playing at a Hockey World Cup as a medalist from the last Olympics. India ended a 41-year-long wait by winning bronze in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
India's journey in the Hockey World Cup 2023
India were clubbed in Pool D alongside England, Wales, and Spain. India trounced Spain 2-0 in their opening game, followed by a goalless draw against England. The hosts overpowered Wales 4-2 to conclude second in Pool D, behind England. With England qualifying straightaway for the quarter-finals, India played the crossover match against NZ, only to come up short in the shootout.
India are hosting Hockey WC for fourth time
India are hosting the Hockey World Cup for the fourth time after 1982 (Mumbai), 2010 (Delhi), and 2018 (Odisha). It is the most times a nation has hosted the tournament. Notably, India became the first nation to be hosting the tournament twice in a row.
