India’s chance of qualifying for the quarterfinals at the FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup ended on Sunday with a heartbreaking defeat against New Zealand in the crossover match in Bhubaneswar.
With the score tied at 3-3 at full time, the match went to a shootout and after a couple of stunning saves from veteran goalkeeper PR Sreejesh, skipper Harmanpreet Singh had the chance to take India to victory but he missed. Soon after, Shamsher Singh missed his opportunity too and New Zealand closed out the win.
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Blog: New Zealand beat India to reach FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup quarterfinals
Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, Sukhjeet Singh and Varun Kumar had scored the goals for India in regular time and the hosts lead 3-1 at one stage, but New Zealand equalised in the fourth quarter of the match before sealing their spot in the quarterfinals eventually.
Here are some reactions to India’s heartbreaking defeat:
The fact is we were a shadow of the team that we were at the Tokyo Olympics 💔
— Viren Rasquinha (@virenrasquinha) January 22, 2023
It hasn't even been a minute and the Kalinga has almost emptied out. Soul crushing loss for India pic.twitter.com/GP2nEA2GN7
— Dilip Unnikrishnan (@DilipUnnikrishn) January 22, 2023
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.
— Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) January 22, 2023
🇮🇳IND 3-3 NZL🇳🇿
(SO: 4-5)#IndiaKaGame #HWC2023 #HockeyWorldCup2023 @CMO_Odisha @sports_odisha @IndiaSports @Media_SAI pic.twitter.com/CiXiy9JPU0
And 12th-ranked New Zealand have shown India the door… Olympic medallists India crash out of World Cup
— Harpreet Lamba (@HarpreetLamba88) January 22, 2023
Genuinely don't know what to make of that performance after going 3-1 up. NZ were even down to 10. Utterly heartbreaking defeat, this team promised much more than what they delivered at this World Cup. Easiest explanation for tonight, but Hardik was such a miss. #HWC2023
— Vinayakk (@vinayakkm) January 22, 2023
New Zealand captain Nick Woods expresses his delight after the team's win over hosts India in the crossover of #HWC2023.@BlackSticks pic.twitter.com/DAloYZzIZy
— International Hockey Federation (@FIH_Hockey) January 22, 2023
Agar dil hockey ko de rahe ho, accha cardiologist bhi appoint karke rakhna pls #PSA
— Tareque Laskar (@tarequelaskar) January 22, 2023
Ind hosted WC 4 times. None of these times did it enter SF. Indian coach, foreign coach, nothing worked. Such fiascos do no good for the game we love. Remember, NZ defeated Ind at the GC CWG too. No one to blame, let's live with this.
— stick2hockey.com (@indianhockey) January 22, 2023
Two amazing matches today what a shame for the hosts @TheHockeyIndia to lose in front of another great #Kalinga crowd .. @BlackSticks go through on a sudden death shootout … #HockeyWorldCup2023
— Dan Strange (@DanStrangetv) January 22, 2023
Coming from one of the best and the man in charge... Big decisions needed now. @TheHockeyIndia https://t.co/iirh9MsHiZ
— Uthra 🇮🇳 (@OnTheSportField) January 22, 2023
Indian cricket team to Hockey team #HWC2023 pic.twitter.com/jO30eRL5Ht
— mon (@4sacinom) January 22, 2023
11 PCs. Shootout. Sudden Death. Many questions. Probaby, a few answers or none at all. Its like old times.Harman's hit in the sudden death, showed how desperate he was to get a goal. Back to the drawing board. #FIH2023
— Sundeep Misra (@MisraSundeep) January 22, 2023
Harmanpreet says the pressure of being captain hasn't affected his game
— Dilip Unnikrishnan (@DilipUnnikrishn) January 22, 2023
Game over!!! Bogey teams are hurting us in crucial games. What a horrible event for Harman!!! It's 3 am in Melbourne and I can't go back to sleep now. What a loss!! This loss would haunt us for a while.
— Ash C (@AshChandler82) January 22, 2023
💔Not the result we wanted. But our team will bounce back. #IndiaKaGame #HWC2023 pic.twitter.com/gJ76INwtZS
— Dilip Kumar Tirkey (@DilipTirkey) January 22, 2023
Congratulations to @BlackSticks on beating India and reaching QF. They kept getting knocked down and got back up and responded.
— Give Me Hockey (@hockeyind) January 22, 2023
Great temperament and willpower. They stuck to their plans
And so PR Sreejesh has possibly played his last World Cup match... it ends on an injury after a stunning save to keep his side alive in the shootout. https://t.co/hmPWMTZ34y pic.twitter.com/8d1V4jSzDs
— Vinayakk (@vinayakkm) January 22, 2023
