India crash out of FIH Hockey World Cup

Tribune News Service

Indervir Grewal

Bhubaneswar, january 22

India had the home advantage. They had the firepower. Their defence was set. India’s rivals, New Zealand, were ranked six places below them. The Kiwis had struggled so far, and were alive in the tournament only because of the crossover format.

On paper, there was no match between the two teams — one came into the tournament as a medal contender, the other looking to get as far as possible. But as soon as the starting whistle was blown and New Zealand fired a high ball into the Indian ‘circle’, all bets were off.

New Zealand were not going to sit back. They were going to come after India in their own backyard. It was not a surprise. Before the game, New Zealand coach Greg Nicol had fired a warning that they had nothing to lose and the pressure was on India. This was not a hollow threat, according to India coach Graham Reid, who as an Australian was “aware” of the Black Sticks’ fighting spirit. But his players were not going to crumble under pressure, they were ready to “stand up”, Reid had said.

But words do not always translate into action. On a warm evening today, while New Zealand backed their words with an inspired, gritty and calm performance, India fell way short of their expectations. The journey that began with talks of winning a medal has descended into ignominy, with India relegated to the classification round to be held in Rourkela. The highest India can finish now is ninth, a considerable fall from finishing sixth in the last World Cup and winning bronze at the Tokyo Olympics.

Hard to shake off

While New Zealand made their attacking intent clear at the start of the match, they knew it was going to take solid defending to keep India at bay. That is exactly what they did. Despite a continuous Indian threat on their ‘circle’, they did not allow the hosts many clear attempts on goal. But they couldn’t deny India for long. Lalit Upadhyay struck after a quick transition in the 17th minute, but it did not unsettle New Zealand. Even when they fell two goals behind — Sukhjeet Singh smashing in a rebound during a penalty corner — seven minutes later, they did not panic.

When attacking, they moved the ball with patience, and pushed high when defending to unsettle the Indians. They had their reward before halftime through Sam Lane’s deflection. But India struck again in the 40th minute through a Varun Kumar penalty corner conversion. However, India just could not shake of the Kiwis. Russell Kane converted a penalty corner in the 43rd minute before Sean Findlay equalised six minutes later with an unlikely deflection. With their tails up, New Zealand actually tried to force an outright win, and almost snatched a winner in the final moments.

In the shootout, though, New Zealand almost committed hara-kiri. Up by two, they missed both their final attempts. But they finally sealed the match, and India’s fate, after a seesawing sudden death.

Spain fight past Malaysia

When Malaysia’s Firhan Ashari shot his sudden death attempt over the goalpost, Spain coach Max Caldas breathed a sigh of relief.

His team had put him through some anxious moments. Despite starting the game as favourites and controlling the proceedings throughout, Spain chose to do it the hard way.

They started the game cautiously. Malaysia’s surprise win over New Zealand and their own 0-4 loss to England at the end of the pool stage might have played on their mind. Or they might just have been wary of Malaysia’s dangerous counterattacks. But their ball movement was slow and their passes too safe.

After a drab first half, Spain came out with more intent but were wasteful in the circle. They were instantly made to pay as Malaysia caught them on the wrong foot with a long pass, which Faizal Saari (34th minute) controlled beautifully before firing a reverse shot past the goalkeeper. The goal proved to be the jolt Spain needed. Displaying more urgency and courage, they kept getting closer until they finally broke the solid Malaysian defence. They scored two quick goals, through Marc Miralles (40th) and Xavier Gospert (41st), to turn the tables on the Asian side. But they could not withstand the Malaysian pressure and conceded their lead seven minutes later.

Guilty of not finishing off the game when they had the chance — they couldn’t convert either of their eight penalty corners — Spain went into the shootout as the more disappointed team. Even in the shootout, they came back after falling behind, took the lead but could not finish off the Malaysia before finally beating them in the sudden death.

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