New Zealand held their nerve to edge India in the penalty shootout at the Kalinga Stadium on Sunday as the hosts crashed out of the 2023 Hockey World Cup. Despite leading the game, India squandered a chance to lead 3–1 in the third quarter when New Zealand scored twice in the final quarter to tie the game at the end of regular time, forcing a penalty shootout. did.
Lalit Upadhyay (17th minute), Sukhjit Singh (24th minute) and Varun Kumar (40th minute) scored for India in regular time, while goals for the Black Sticks came from Sam Lane (28th minute), Kane Russell (43rd minute), and Sean Findlay (49 mins). India came back to tie the score at 3-3 in the shootout, thanks to some brilliant saves from veteran goalkeeper PR Sreejesh, and missed two chances in sudden death by Shamsher Singh. The effort ended in a 4–5 loss in the final shootout in front of the home crowd. India started aggressively in the first minute as New Zealand came into the circle. The hosts lost possession but looked determined to take the lead in the third minute, making another entry through India’s number 11 Mandeep Singh, who made an excellent run in the Kiwi circle.
New Zealand struck first in the sixth minute through a long aerial pass but the hosts came close to scoring the first goal with a quick counterattack, but New Zealand’s defense remained alert to avoid any danger. Nick Woods was issued a green card in the eighth minute, forcing the Kiwis to play with a 10-man squad for two minutes. Manpreet Singh was also issued a green card as he stopped playing even after the referee’s whistle. The hosts were in danger of a goal in the 11th minute, but India’s solid defense ensured that the ball did not go past them. India earned their first penalty corner PC) in the 13th minute when Harmanpreet sent the ball to the left of the goalkeeper but failed to find the back of the net.
New Zealand survived another scare in the last minute as the first quarter ended goalless. The second quarter saw exciting action, with both teams creating chances in the opening minutes. India finally made the breakthrough in the 17th minute of the game when Shamsher sent the ball through to Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, who fired the ball past the New Zealand goalpost to put the hosts ahead. India got two consecutive PCs in the 22nd minute but failed to convert them into goals.
feeling for this guy today #hockeyindia #hockeyworldcup2023 pic.twitter.com/xeK2rSTB4i— Chirag Sukhija (@RjChiragSukhija) January 22, 2023
Although India scored a goal on the rebound, New Zealand used their referral to be denied by the third umpire. India got another PC in the 23rd minute, but once again the hosts failed to score as the chances were begging. Sukhjit Singh extended India’s lead to two goals in the 24th minute by heading Nixon’s rebound into the goal post. New Zealand came into action in the dying minutes of the second quarter as Sam Lane reduced India’s lead to one goal in the 28th minute.
The second quarter saw no goals as the first half ended with India leading 2–1. In the 40th minute, India scored their third goal on PC through Varun Kumar. However, Ken Russell kept New Zealand’s hopes alive when he scored through a PC in the 43rd minute just before the end of the third quarter. The third quarter ended with New Zealand trailing by two goals to three.
New Zealand came into action in the final quarter as they were hovering around the Indian circle. Sean Findlay equalized in the 49th minute to keep their last eight hopes alive. The hosts kept fighting and skipper Harmanpreet Singh had a chance to convert a PC and give the hosts the lead but missed the goal.
He attempted a drag-flick, but his effort was weak and defenders were able to intercept the ball before it could reach the back of the net. The final quarter ended with both teams tied 3–3, with the result decided by a penalty shootout. Harmanpreet scored the first try to put India ahead. Kane Russell scored the first try for the Black Sticks and leveled the score. Raj Kumar Pal scored for India while Findlay also found the target to keep the score at 2-2.
Abhishek failed to put the ball into the net, while Hayden scored a super goal at the third attempt to put New Zealand ahead and the hosts trailed 2–3. In the fourth attempt, the players of both the teams failed to capitalize on their chances and India was trailing 2-2. 3. In a dramatic turn of events, Shamsher scored for India while Sam Hiha missed five attempts to level the score at the end.
The teams once again went to a second round of penalty shootouts, with New Zealand scoring the first try. Nick Woods missed a chance to give India the lead but Harmanpreet could not get past the New Zealand goalkeeper, with the scores still level at 3-3. Findlay finally put the Black Sticks ahead on his seventh attempt but Raj Kumar Pal tied the score at 4–4. Hayden Phillips and Sukhjit Singh both missed the eighth attempt to make things more dramatic. Lane scored the crucial goal to put New Zealand ahead 5–4.
All hopes were pinned on Shamsher but he failed to beat the goalkeeper as India crashed out of the Hockey World Cup on home soil. New Zealand will take on defending champions Belgium on January 24 for a place in the semi-finals, while India will face Japan on January 26 for the 9th to 16th places in the tournament. (With ANI inputs)