India's dreams of lifting the Hockey World Cup after 43 years were shattered when they went down fighting against the Netherlands in the quarter-finals in Bhubaneswar on Thursday.
A well-oiled Indian unit had raised the hopes of making the semifinals for the first time since 1975 but the Dutch side broke a million hearts by coming from behind to
knock out the hosts 2-1in the last-eight clash.
India took the lead in the 12th minute through Akashdeep Singh before Thierry Brinkman drew parity for Netherlands five seconds before the end of the first quarter at the Kalinga Stadium.
After a hard-fought third quarter, Netherlands scored the winner in the 50th minute when Mink van der Weerden converted a penalty corner.
The defeat ended India's long cherished dream of lifting the trophy only for the second time after its lone triumph in 1975 at Kuala Lumpur. Young players left the pitch with tears in their eyes.
It was a momentous occasion for India to rewrite history books after 43 years as they had never qualified for the semi-finals of the World Cup after 1975.
The Netherlands played like true warriors and didn't give an inch to the Indians after the change of ends.
The Dutch had the first shot at the goal in the 11th minute but Jeroen Hertzberger reverse hit went just wide of the Indian goal.
No comments:
Post a Comment