Jennifer
Indian hockey team under the captaincy of Harmanpreet Singh locked horns with New Zealand in the crossover match of the FIH Hockey World Cup 2023. Although the men in blue couldn’t hold their nerves and got eliminated after from the 15th edition of the tournament after losing to New Zealand in the penalty shootouts.
Notably, Team India was leading by 3-2 till the end of the third quarter but later on, they lost the lead and the match ended in a draw after the end of the full-time match. The match went into the penalty shootouts and it was New Zealand that held the nerves and won the match by 5-4.
Just after the defeat of the Indian team and their elimination from the World Cup, the Indian fans also came up with various reactions on Twitter. Subsequently, the fans also recalled the Indian team’s jinx against New Zealand in either of the sports, be it cricket or hockey.
Here’s how fans reacted:
Abe ye new zealandiyon Ka hamne kya bigara hai har bar knockout stages me pel ke chle jate hai 😭😭
— Nitesh Kumar yadav (@RUOKOFFICIAL1) January 22, 2023
They didn't do well
Yar aus ya Belgium se haarte to samjh me aata nz se haar gye
Vo bhi 2 goals ki lead me baad💔— Geetam Dhaked 🇮🇳 (@geetam_dhaked) January 22, 2023
New Zealand once again the bogey team for India in knockouts – not cricket, it’s hockey today.
Tragic 💔💔
But India just couldn’t handle the pressure#IndvsNZ #HockeyWorldCup2023— Vikrant Gupta (@vikrantgupta73) January 22, 2023
Absolutely exhilarating #INDvsNZ Hockey World Cup 2023 Knockout match!
Both teams played well, but it was Team NZ's day. We are thrilled with our team's performance, they showed sheer sense of sportsmanship. Best wishes. 🏑#HockeyWorldCup2023 @TheHockeyIndia pic.twitter.com/2KnGB8aT96
— Dr. Ashwathnarayan C. N. (@drashwathcn) January 22, 2023
When you lead 3-1 till Q3..lose your lead with two quarters and your shivering hands losing control of the ball during penalty shootout… You don't deserve to win…. Still proud of our #NationalGame #hockey #HockeyWorldCup2023 #INDvsNZ #HockeyWorldCup #Hockyworldcup2023
— Ravi Dubey (@RaviDubey1) January 22, 2023
Nz’s to India in knockouts -: #INDvsNZ #HockeyIndia #hockey pic.twitter.com/UoO0dW5WoZ
— vinay chawla (@oh_dudeee) January 23, 2023
India out of the Hockey World Cup 2023.
Same feeling 🥺🥺#INDvsNZ #HockeyWorldCup2023 #HockeyIndia pic.twitter.com/9t6vNxfUiq— Simmu✨ (@meownces) January 22, 2023
Nice try 🇮🇳🏑🥰🥰
#INDvsNZ#hockey#HockeyWorldCup2023 pic.twitter.com/FZSna7Z6vg— Total lover (@Totallover1) January 22, 2023
pahle cricket ab hockey
New Zealand se nafrat badhti jaa rahi h ;(#INDvsNZ
— Ansh Pandey (@pandeyism_) January 23, 2023
It's really pathetic. You can't now blame poor Hockey infrastructure and lucrative sponsorship. Dilip Tirkey, President of Hockey India has to take moral responsibility. read https://t.co/BXbvwcfpqg
#HockeyWorldCup2023 #IndVsNz #HockeyIndia#IndianHockey #diliptirkey pic.twitter.com/3ftQqSEctv— Swetank Mahapatra (@SwetankMahapat2) January 23, 2023
Speaking of the action of the match, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay opened the scoresheet for the Indian team with a field goal in the 17th minute of the match. Just seven minutes after the first goal, it was Sukhjeett Singh scored a brilliant goal in the 24th minute of the match on a penalty corner. But Sam Lahe took New Zealand back into the match with a field goal in the 28th minute of the match.
Varun Kumar increased India’s lead in the 40th minute of the match with a brilliant goal on a penalty corner. The Indian team was comfortably leading by a margin of 3-1. Then came the time when Nic Woods’ men made a stunning comeback in the match smashing two consecutive goals on two penalty corners in the 43rd and 49th minute respectively. The regulation time of the match ended with an equal score line of 3-3.
But eventually, New Zealand outplayed the hosts by 5-4 in the penalty shootouts later and now they will lock horns with Belgium in the quarter-final of the tournament.
