The temper is sombre. No matter how a lot you console them, the loss will sting. From the tears of pleasure on a scorching August afternoon in Tokyo to the tears of sorrow in Bhubaneswar on Sunday, the downfall is a tough one to digest.
Manpreet Singh, who captained the Indian hockey staff to bronze one and a half years again, was down on his knees, staring on the turf. Akashdeep Singh, who missed Tokyo and was determined for a World Cup medal right here, sat within the aim after the embarrassing loss to New Zealand within the crossovers.
Hardik Singh, who may have made the distinction however for his harm, was sitting beside him quietly, unable to say something to his senior colleague.
A loss at dwelling, in entrance of 16,000 followers on the Kalinga Stadium, who have been anticipating a medal identical to Tokyo will not simply fade away. But they nonetheless should rise from it. And shortly.
The world No 6 outfit will face reigning Asian Games gold medallists Japan in a 9-16 place classification playoff on the new Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium in Rourkela on Thursday. If they win, India will then play the 9-12 playoff on Saturday. If they lose, they should endure the ignominy of enjoying the 13-16 place playoffs.
The state of affairs is a bit difficult for India. If the hosts win, there can be no acknowledgement, no appreciation for the outcome as it’s a mere classification playoff that too for the final eight positions of the event. If they lose, the criticism, the questions, and the denunciation will probably escalate.
And Japan are usually not going to make issues simple for the hosts. They are hungry. Having misplaced all three Pool B matches in opposition to Belgium, Germany and South Korea, the world No 18 outfit need to get off the mark and quick. India could possibly be their probability. A staff down after a disappointing defeat, Japan will come out with all weapons blazing with nothing to lose.
Last yr, the 2 groups met thrice – each time within the Asia Cup – with Japan convincingly profitable the group opener 5-2 earlier than India got here out on prime within the Super 4s (2-1) and the bronze medal playoff (1-0).
But the Indian staff that went to the Asia Cup in Jakarta final yr was a second-string squad comprising of juniors and senior gamers who made up the bench power. The final time the full-strength squads of either side confronted one another was in 2021.
In the pool phases of the Tokyo Olympics, India had crushed the hosts 5-3 in July 2021. The two sides met twice on the 2021 Asian Champions Trophy in Dhaka the place India hammered Japan 6-0 within the spherical robin however Japan fought again to defeat India 5-3 within the semi-finals.
Lots is at stake in Thursday’s match. While India’s finest end at a World Cup was in Kuala Lumpur 1975 after they gained the event for the one and solely time. But their worst was London 1986 when India completed twelfth and final – solely six years after profitable gold on the 1980 Moscow Olympics.
If India lose on Thursday, they are going to be preventing for 13-16 positions on Saturday, robotically making it their worst-ever outcome within the World Cup. Back within the day, the World Cup was a 12-team affair. It elevated to 16 in Kuala Lumpur 2002 earlier than returning to 12 groups in Monchengladbach in 2006. It turned a 16-team event once more in Bhubaneswar 2018 when India completed sixth after dropping a carefully fought quarter-final 1-2 to eventual finalists Netherlands.
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