Team India finished joint 9th in the FIH Hockey World Cup 2023 after beating South Africa 5-2 on Saturday. Team India's dream to win the World Cup title ended when they lost to New Zealand in the crossover game. Abhishek was named the Player of the Match for scoring a brilliant field goal.
In the classification match against South Africa, the men in blue were dominant from the beginning as they scored twice in the first quarter. Even though South Africa had possession for a decent amount of time, Team India had control throughout. India scored their third goal in the third quarter and the South African team scored a few minutes later in the same quarter. The fourth quarter saw three goals, two of which were by the Indias and one by South Africa through a penalty stroke.
With the win, Team India finished joint ninth in the overall standings of the World Cup along with Argentina.
India have been waiting for the World Cup trophy for 47 years now and with the loss, their wait continues. India last won the Hockey World Cup trophy in 1975 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. After this, the Indian team never got a chance to lift any trophy in this global event. Team India won the World Cup last time by defeating arch-rivals Pakistan.
Team India ended their FIH Men's Hockey World Cup campaign in style as they crushed Japan 8-0 on Thursday. The men in blue produced a brilliant show at the Birsa Munda Stadium in Raurkela. India skipper Harmanpreet Singh and player of the match Abhishek scored two goals each.
In the crossover match, New Zealand defeated India 4-5 in the penalty shootout after both teams were locked at the score of 3-3. India, ranked sixth in the world, produced a below-par performance, allowing New Zealand to claw back into the match after taking a 2-0 lead in the first half. India scored through Lalit Upadhyay (17th minute), Sukhjeet Singh (24th) and Varun Kumar (40th). New Zealand replied through Sam Lane (28th) and two penalty-corner conversions by Kane Russell (43rd) and Sean Findlay (49th).
