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India all but out of the semi-finals race after losing to Netherlands in Men's Hockey World Cup
India lost 1-3 against the Netherlands in the Men's Hockey World Cup on Saturday.
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. 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. 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.
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. However, the side would stay alive if the Argentine defeat the English. Even if the results go India's way, the team would still be required to win by a big margin against Argentina on Monday.
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.
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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 showed the gulf between India and the Netherlands, as the latter absolutely ran away with the game.
Format of World Cup
The tournament did away with the traditional quarter-final stage. The teams finishing in the top two positions in each opening pool advanced to new crossover pools, with the top two from Pools E and F progressing directly to the semi-finals.
India qualified for the second stage after finishing second in Pool D behind England. However, because England had beaten India 4-2 in the opening phase, England carried three points into Pool E while India entered without any points.
Because of no carryover points, India were in desperate need of a win against the Dutch, but in the end, it wasn't meant to be. Earlier in the group stage, India defeated Wales and Pakistan but lost to England.
