Amstelveen: The Indian men’s hockey team conceded two goals in the final quarter despite a flawless first half to lose 1-3 against reigning Olympic champions the Netherlands and crash out of the semifinal race of the ongoing FIH World Cup in Amstelveen Saturday.
India needed to win this match at all costs to reach the last four stage, but despite a good start, the team committed mistakes in the final 10 minutes to get knocked out of podium contention.
India will now plays an inconsequential final second-round match against Argentina on Monday. After that, the team will play the fifth-eighth place classification matches.
Captain Harmanpreet Singh scored the only goal for India in the 52nd minute from a penalty corner.
Duco Telgenkamp (41st), TJep Hoedemakers (51st), and Thijs van Dam (55th) scored three field goals for the Netherlands.
The Indian team, which lost to England in the first round, remained pointless in the second round.
Even if they beat Argentina, India will only have three points, ending its hopes of reaching the semifinals.
In World Cup history, the Indian team has never defeated the Netherlands. In the 1973 World Cup final, the Dutch team defeated India in a penalty shootout.
The Indian team played a very composed game in the first half, keeping the Dutch team at bay. While the Indian backline made no mistakes, they also prevented the Dutch midfield from retaining possession for long periods.
In the third minute, India applied pressure and entered the circle from the right, but the Dutch defenders thwarted their attempt.
In the eighth minute, Rajinder Singh took the ball inside the D after a pass from Hardik Singh, but once again India could not penetrate the Dutch defence.
Three minutes later, van Dam attempted a reverse hit from a pass from the left, but the ball hit the back of his stick. India was awarded a free hit, but lost control of the ball.
The Dutch team won the first penalty corner of the match in the 13th minute, but Jip Janssen’s drag-flick was effectively blocked by Manpreet’s smart rushing.
The Indian defence dominated the match in the first 15 minutes. In the opening minute of the second quarter, the Netherlands won three consecutive penalty corners, none of which resulted in a goal.
India had a chance to score in the 24th minute when Dilpreet Singh took the ball from Manpreet and went into the circle, but Dutch goalkeeper Meijer Derk denied the attempt, although Rajinder could have taken a better shot on the rebound inside the circle.
Neither team was able to score until halftime. The Indians also launched forward attacks in this quarter, but the Dutch backline prevented them from succeeding.
India’s first penalty corner was awarded in the 35th minute on a referral. But Harmanpreet’s drag-flick hit the foot of the Netherlands’ first rusher, earning India a second penalty corner on referral, but the skipper’s shot went wide.
The Indian defense, which had been so alert, suffered a moment of carelessness, and the Netherlands scored an easy goal. Tijman Reyanga received the ball inside the circle, took aim, and the ball deflected off Duco’s stick and went in. Indian goalkeeper Mohit had no chance.
India earned a penalty corner on the counter, but Harmanpreet’s drag-flick was saved by the goalkeeper. With the ball inside the circle, the Indian strikers attempted to rebound but were unsuccessful.
In the 47th minute, Abhishek earned a penalty corner for India, but Harmanpreet was not on the field. Amit Rohidas’s slap shot deflected wide. India took a review after the ball hit a defender’s foot, and was awarded another penalty corner, but Sanjay’s shot was blocked by the goalkeeper.
The Netherlands doubled their lead in the 51st minute when Hoedenmakers put the ball into the net.
The following minute, Rajinder earned a penalty corner for India on a counter-attack, and Harmanpreet scored with a powerful drag-flick.
Just as India’s hopes of making a comeback were beginning to grow, the Netherlands tightened their grip on the match with another easy goal.
India’s most experienced player Manpreet Singh lost the ball which went to van Dam, who made no mistake.
