India suffer shock exit from hockey World Cup, lose to New Zealand in sudden death
Bhubaneswar, Jan 22: Hosts India made a shock exit from the FIH Men's World Cup after losing to New Zealand in sudden death in their must-win crossover match in front of a relentlessly cheering 15000 home crowd here on Sunday.
The loss ended India's hopes of a World Cup medal after 48 years.
Despite vociferous support from the jampacked Kalinga Stadium crowd, India allowed New Zealand to come back from two-goal deficit in the regulation time as the match ended at 3-3 in the regulation time.
In the penalty shootout, the scores were also tied after the first five set of strikes, and the match was finally decided via sudden death.
Captain Harmanpreet Singh had the golden chance to take India to victory in sudden death but he failed to do that as he missed the target.
Veteran goalkeeper PR Sreejesh made two saves in the shootout to rescue India after they were 2-3 down. He saved another one during the sudden death and got himself injured and Krishan Pathak replaced him in the next three rounds of strikes.
Finally, Shamsher Singh missed and Sam Lane scored to hand New Zealand the win.
New Zealand will now face defending champions Belgium, who topped Pool B, in the quarterfinals here on Tuesday.
In the regulation time, India earned as many as 11 penalty corners and converted two of them while New Zealand got just two PCs.
Yet again, it was a case of ample goal-scoring opportunities for India but the forwarrds lacked finishing skills.
India were on the offensive as soon as the match began with Mandeep Singh, who started despite taking a hit on his knee during training on Saturday, making a fine run into the New Zealand circle.
But India doubled the lead soon with Sukhjeet Singh scoring in the 24th minute, following India's fourth penalty corner.
Harmanpreet's drag-flick was palmed away by the New Zealand goalkeeper but it went up high and Sukhjeet was at the right place at the right time to volley it in.
New Zealand pulled one back a minute before half time as Sam Lane deflected a Child's low cross from the left into the Indian goal.
India were 2-1 up at the half time.
New Zealand pressed for an equaliser in the third quarter and they got into the Indian 'D' on a few occasions but the home side swelled its lead by two goal margin through a penalty corner conversion in the 41st minute.
India earned three penalty corner in the third quarters, and scored from the third PC and seventh overall with Varun Kumar sounding the board cleanly.
Three minutes later, New Zealand again cut the deficit to just one goal with Kane Russell converting a penalty corner.
In the last quarter, New Zealand made a spirited fightback and restored parity in the 50th minute following their second penalty corner of the match as Sean Findlay deflected in a Hayden Phillips strike.
Goalkeeper Krishan Pathak saved India from disaster as he palmed away a high shot from Sam Hiha in the 51st minute.
In the earlier crossover match of the day, Spain beat Malaysia 4-3 in penalty shootout to qualify for the quarterfinals after the two sides were locked 2-2 in the regulation time.
Spain will face title contenders and Pool A toppers Australia in the last eight stage on Tuesday.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Security tightened along Rajasthan border amid espionage concerns; SMS Stadium gets bomb threat
Jaipur, May 14 (PTI): Amid concerns of espionage, the Rajasthan administration has intensified security measures along the India-Pakistan border, with authorities in Jaisalmer and Sri Ganganagar banning the use of Pakistani SIM cards.
According to officials, Pakistan has recently increased the range of mobile towers near the border, prompting fears of unauthorised communication and surveillance.
Meanwhile, Jaipur's Sawai Mansingh (SMS) Stadium once again received a bomb threat on Wednesday. Besides, three district administration offices in Baran, Alwar and Pratapgarh also received bomb threat mail.
"The use of Pakistani SIMs has been strictly prohibited in border districts to prevent any breach of security," said Jaisalmer Collector Pratap Singh said on Wednesday.
A similar order has been issued by the Sri Ganganagar district collector.
Security has been tightened in villages within 50 km of the international border, with restrictions on the movement of outsiders. The Border Security Force (BSF) and local police are maintaining high alert in sensitive areas.
BSF Deputy Commandant (Intelligence) Mahesh Chandra Jat held a training session for common people about drone activity. During the interaction, he warned of a possible increase in drone activity from across the border.
"We must remain prepared at all times. The public should understand how drones operate and the potential threats they pose," he said.
The Union Home Ministry has identified Jaipur, Alwar, Bharatpur, Kota, and Ajmer, along with border districts such as Barmer, Jaisalmer, Bikaner, Ganganagar, and Jodhpur, as sensitive in view of possible air strikes.
According to the guidelines issued by the Directorate of Civil Defence, instructions have been given to install electric sirens at key locations in these areas, which will be operated from a centralised control room.
In another development, Jaipur's Sawai Mansingh Stadium once again received a bomb threat. A similar threat was received by the Pratapgarh, Baran and Alwar district administrations through email.
The threat, sent via email to the Sports Council building, also mentioned the SMS Hospital as a potential target. Police have increased security at the stadium and are tracing the sender with the help of cyber experts.
Meanwhile, life is returning to normal in the border regions. Markets in the affected districts reopened on Tuesday, and routine activities resumed.
Flight operations have also resumed in the state. All three airports in Bikaner, Jodhpur, and Kishangarh (Ajmer) became operational.
On Wednesday, a private operator resumed services from Kishangarh to six cities, including Hyderabad, Pune, Lucknow, Hindon, Nanded, and Bengaluru.
"Flight service by a private operator has been resumed from the airport," said Airport Director B L Meena, adding that IndiGo flights from Bikaner are scheduled to start on Thursday.
Protests have started in Rajasthan against Turkiye. Marble traders in Udaipur have announced that they will not buy marble from Turkiye, which supported Pakistan during the conflict with India.
Udaipur Marble Traders' Association president Pankaj Gangawat said, "The decision has been taken in protest against the support being given by Turkiye to Pakistan."
He said that the association demands the government to ban marble trade and tourism with Turkiye.
Meanwhile, the education department has announced fresh exam guidelines following disruptions in border districts due to the India-Pakistan conflict.
