Image credit: Hockey IndiaThe Indian men's hockey team are out of the FIH World Cup semifinal race after losing 1-3 to reigning Olympic champions Netherlands in their second-round match on Saturday. India needed a win to keep their last-four hopes alive, but a strong first half was followed by a difficult final quarter.
The Netherlands scored twice in the last 10 minutes to seal the match. Harmanpreet Singh scored India's only goal in the 52nd minute from a penalty corner.
Duco Telgenkamp (41st), Tjep Hoedemakers (51st) and Thijs van Dam (55th) scored field goals for the Netherlands. India will now play Argentina in their final second-round match on Monday before entering the fifth-eighth place classification matches.
India out of semifinal raceThe defeat leaves India without a point in the second round. India had already lost to England in the first round, and even a victory against Argentina on Monday would take them to only three points.
That will not be enough to reach the semifinals. India will instead play in the fifth-eighth place classification matches after their final second-round game against Argentina.
The result also means India are still waiting for their first World Cup win over the Netherlands. The Dutch defeated India in the penalty shootout in the 1973 World Cup final.
For India, a match that began with so much promise ended with disappointment as the Netherlands proved too strong in the decisive moments. India start stronglyIndia played with control in the opening half and kept the Netherlands from building long periods of possession.
The Indian defence was particularly impressive and did not allow the Dutch to create many clear chances. India entered the Dutch circle from the right in the third minute, but the defenders quickly stopped the move.
Five minutes later, Rajinder Singh received a pass from Hardik Singh and carried the ball into the circle. Once again, India could not find a way through the Dutch defence.
The Netherlands had a chance in the 11th minute when van Dam tried a reverse hit from a pass from the left, but the ball came off the back of his stick. Netherlands fail to convert penalty cornersThe Netherlands earned the first penalty corner of the match in the 13th minute.
Jip Janssen took the drag-flick, but Manpreet Singh made an excellent rushing block to keep India safe. The Netherlands then won three penalty corners in the opening minute of the second quarter, but could not convert any of them.
