Bhubaneswar: New Zealand silenced the packed Kalinga Stadium crowd here on Sunday evening by packing off India 5-4 in the penalty shootout after the teams were tied 3-3 in regulation time.
The Indians had only themselves to blame for missing out on a World Cup Hockey 2023 quarterfinal berth in their home tournament.
The men in blue, egged on by 15,000 fans, twice surrendered two-goal leads in regulation time. And in the penalty shootout, India failed to seal the deal twice in sudden death as skipper Harmanpreet Singh and Sukhjeet Singh missed their attempts.
In a topsy turvy shootout, Indians missed 5 of their 9 attempts, with Shamsher Singh off target twice including the last stroke when he had to score to keep India alive.
The Indians, looking to book a date with Belgium in the last eight, took their time to get into the groove. After a goalless first quarter, Lalit Upadhyay scored in the 18th minute as Akashdeep Singh set him up with a fine run.
Sukhjeet made it 2-0, scoring from the team’s fourth penalty corner.
New Zealand reduced the margin with a Sam Lane field goal two minutes before half-time.
Varun Kumar restored the hosts’ 2-goal advantage as he put the ball in off the fourth rebound off another penalty corner.
But again, India let the Black Sticks pull closer just before the end of third quarter, when Kane Russell converted their maiden PC.
India wasted two more penalty corners, but New Zealand utilised one of their own to level scores at 3-3.
The shootout was a nervy affair, with both teams missing aplenty.
Ultimately, it was heartbreak for an error-prone and nervous India.
India will now play Japan on January 26 for the 9th to 16th classification places.
Joining New Zealand in the quarterfinals was Spain, who edged out a fighting Malaysia 4-3 in another penalty shootout. The teams were locked 2-2 at the end of 60 minutes.
