Odisha, India

Hosts India are crashed out of the ongoing 2023 Hockey World Cup after losing their must-win crossover match against New Zealand 4-5 in sudden death at Kalinga Stadium on Sunday. The disappointing end to the game saw thousands of Indian fans inside the stadium walk out in utter despair. After the match got tied 3-3 in the regular time, it went into the shoot-out where it again stood 3-3, forcing the game to enter sudden death where New Zealand made most of their chances and won the important clash 5-4 to cruise ahead to the knockout stages.

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While both teams failed to score during the first quarter, India took an early lead in the match with a goal in 18th minute through Lalit Kumar Upadhyay. After Lalit missed out on scoring during the penalty corner a few minutes later, Sukhjeet Singh doubled India’s lead in no time.

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New Zealand didn’t shy behind as they netted one in the 29th minute, making it 1-2. During the third quarter, India scored their third goal via Varun Kumar as he converted a penalty corner into a goal in the 41st minute. This lead looked good on the scorecard as fans were hoping for an easy win following this.

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The happiness on Indian players and fans’ faces short-lived as New Zealand’s Kane Russell converted a chance into a goal soon after. After getting yet another penalty corner in the fourth and final quarter, Blacksticks’ Sean Findlay found the ball off the rebound in the 50th minute and levelled the score 3-3.

However, before the regular time ended, India got a chance to take a lead but failed to capitalised on it, as the score remained 3-3 heading into the shoot-out. After it got tied again at 3-3, the outcome was decided in the sudden death where New Zealand won the close-fought match 5-4.

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