India continued with their dismal show as it failed to qualify for the final of the Lanco International Super Series hockey tournament after going down rather tamely to Australia with 3-4 in a closely-fought match on Friday. Fans back home who were expecting a spirited performance could not even view any kind of aggression to say the least.
Moreover, the loss against Australia was India's second straight loss in the tournament after facing defeat with 1-2 that involved England in their tournament opener that was held on Thursday. The performance of Hockey India players has not changed much after their disastrous campaign during the London Olympics 2012.
India started on a positive note against the Aussies by scoring through skipper Sardar Singh, but their lead was for a brief period as Boyne netted for Australia within seconds.
For the record, India matched their opponents in all departments of the game in the opening half with goalkeeper P R Sreejesh giving up a magnificent show under the bar on an overall.
However, just a minute before the break Australia advanced further through Boyne's second goal of the day before Danish Mujtaba drew parity for India just at the stroke of half time. It was the defining moment of the entire match during which a defeat was much evident. Some twinkling hope of any fight back died down with no change in the gameplay.
The Kangaroos came out strongly after the lemon break and did not go any additional time go away from them in order to restore their lead through Whitton's goal.
The match was a mute witness for a “do or die” battle between the two sides as India once again managed to equalize the lead through a superb left-hand flick by Gurvinder Singh Chandi.
The Oz team could have moved forward even more quickly if not for a scintillating Indian custodian Sreejesh, who saved a one-to-one penalty shoot-out.
Eventually, Australia had the most out of the entire situation as Trent Mitton scored from nowhere from the right flank five minutes before the hooter to seal the home team's second straight win. It appeared as if the day belonged to completely to the Australians.
India is all set to play against their traditional rivals Pakistan tomorrow in an inconsequential round-robin match of the improvised nine-a-side format of the game, better known as Hockey 9s at the Perth Hockey Stadium in Bentley.
The two Asian sides will again lock horns on Sunday in the third-fourth place play-off match after Pakistan lost their second match in the tournament, a 2-4 defeat at the hands of England.
It now needs to be seen that how Indian players will perform during the much publicized Hockey India League (HIL) that is expected to be adorned by several notable players from all over the world. A record number of 24 players from Australia alone will now participate in the auction.
“Some of the coaches involved with the league are busy as the FIH Champions Trophy starts in Melbourne from December 1, and couldn’t have participated in the auction,” HIL chairman, Narinder Batra said.
