India are all but out of the Hockey World Cup semi-finals race after losing to the Netherlands in the Group E encounter on Saturday. India did manage to peg one goal back, but it wasn’t enough, and in the end, the hosts registered a 3-1 victory at the Wagener Stadium in Amstelveen. The Indian contingent now needs a major miracle if they are to have any shot at reaching the last four.
The side coached by Craig Fulton held the Dutch to a stalemate till the half-time, but it was only a matter of time before the Netherlands broke the deadlock, and that moment came in the third quarter.
However, the side would stay alive if the Argentine defeat the English. For the Netherlands, Duco Telgenkamp, Tjep Hoedemakers, and Thijs van Dam got their names on the scoring sheet, while India’s lone goal came through a physically-struggling Harmanpreet Singh , who converted from a penalty corner. Throughout the contest, the Netherlands were the better team, and the result reflected both teams’ performances on the big day. The match between the two teams was pretty neck and neck for the first three quarters, but the fourth and final quarter displayed the gulf between India and the Netherlands as the latter absolutely ran away with the game.
India would be knocked out of the semi-finals race on Saturday itself if England beat Argentina or the contest between the two teams ends in a draw. Even if the results go India’s way, the team would still be required to win by a big margin against Argentina on Monday.
