India knocked out of Hockey WC after losing penalty shootout thriller to NZ
India was knocked out of the FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup 2023 after losing to New Zealand 4-5 in a thrilling penalty shootout in a crossover match in front of a cheering 15,000 home fans in Bhubaneswar on Sunday (January 22).
Both teams were tied 3-3 after the full time of 60 minutes of play in four quarters. It was India that had the advantage right through the match only for the Black Sticks to equalise.
India took the lead in the second quarter with Lalit Upadhyay finding the target. Sukhjeet Singh made it 2-0 for India. Before half-time, New Zealand scored through Sam Lane to make it 1-2.
Also read: Hockey World Cup schedule, squads, live TV, streaming and more
In the third quarter, Varun Kumar extended India’s advantage to 3-1 but New Zealand again cancelled out the advantage with goals from Kane Russell and Sean Findlay.
In the regulation time, India earned as many as 11 penalty corners and converted two of them while New Zealand got just two PCs. Yet again, it was a case of ample goal-scoring opportunities for India but the forwards lacked finishing skills.
In the penalty shootout, the scores were also tied 3-3 after the first five set of strikes, and the match was finally decided via sudden death.
Captain Harmanpreet Singh had the golden chance to take India to victory in sudden death but he failed to do that as he missed the target.
Veteran goalkeeper PR Sreejesh made two saves in the shootout to rescue India after they were 2-3 down.
He saved another one during the sudden death and got himself injured and Krishan Pathak replaced him in the next three rounds of strikes. Finally, Shamsher Singh missed and Sam Lane scored to hand New Zealand the win.
New Zealand will face defending champion Belgium in the quarterfinals on Tuesday (January 24).
Heartbreak for India as they bow out from FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup 2023 Bhubaneswar-Rourkela. Here are some crucial moments from the game.
🇮🇳IND 3-3 NZL🇳🇿
(SO: 4-5)#IndiaKaGame #HWC2023 #HockeyWorldCup2023 @CMO_Odisha @sports_odisha @IndiaSports @Media_SAI pic.twitter.com/CiXiy9JPU0— Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) January 22, 2023
Spain wins
Earlier in the day, Spain beat Malaysia 4-3 in a penalty shootout in a thrilling crossover match to qualify for the quarter-finals after the two sides were locked 2-2 in Bhubaneswar.
Spain now faces title contender and Pool A topper Australia in the last-eight stage on Tuesday.
After the two sides were goalless at halftime, Faizal Saari put Malaysia ahead in the 35th minute but Marc Miralles (41st) and Xavier Gispert (42nd) scored in quick succession to put Spain 2-1 up. Shello Silverius then scored a fine field goal to make the scoreline 2-2.
In the penalty shootout, it was 3-3 after the first set of five players took their shots. Firhan Ashari, Faizal Saari and Suhaimi Shahmie Irfan scored for Malaysia, while Marhan Jalil and Shello Silverius missed.
Marc Miralles, Bonastre Jordi and Gispert Xavier scored for Spain while Alvaro Iglesias and Marc Reyne failed to score. As the two teams were tied 3-3, sudden death was applied. Spains Marc Miralles scored while Firhan Ashari missed.
Spain, which had finished third in Pool D behind England and India, dominated the match with a lot of circle penetration but the speedy Malaysians were impressive in the counter-attack. Spain got as many as eight penalty corners but wasted all of them.
Malaysia earned one PC which they could not convert. Malaysia was able to put the ball in the Spanish goal in the first minute of the fourth quarter but the goal was disallowed with the umpire ruling that the ball had touched the back stick of Faizal Saari.
Sean Findlay is your Player of the Match for scoring twice in the heroic penalty shootouts for New Zealand.
🇮🇳IND 3-3 NZL🇳🇿
(SO: 4-5)#HockeyIndia #IndiaKaGame #HWC2023 #HockeyWorldCup2023 @CMO_Odisha @sports_odisha @IndiaSports @Media_SAI @BlackSticks pic.twitter.com/iqLpSIUdxo— Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) January 22, 2023
(With agency inputs)