India suffered a humiliating 0-4 loss against defending champions Australia in their final group league encounter of the FIH Men's Hockey World Cup, here on Monday.
Asserting their strength, Australia built up a four-goal lead in the initial 22 minutes, before the Indian managed to re-group themselves and put up a stronger defence thereby denying the fancied rivals, a chance of scoring any more goals.
Kieran Govers opened the scoring with a field goal in the 3rd minute. It was followed by three penalty corner strikers - two by Chris Ciriello and one by Jeremy Hayward. Australia topped Group A with maximum 15 points from five successive victories.
The Aussies players are on course to have another crack at the title as a present to their coach Ric Charlesworth, for whom this will be the last World Cup as he retires, later this year. India finished their five pool matches with four points, gained from a victory over Malaysia and a draw with Spain and they have finished fifth, below Spain who thrashed Malaysia 5-2 to gather five points. This meant that India will play for the ninth and 10th positions.
India managed to mouth a few raids, but the defence also regrouped and put up a stiffer challenge for the rival strikers. Australia today opened the game by pressuring the Indian defence into conceding an early goal. Two strikers pressured defender VR Raghunath for space on top of the Indian circle, snatched the ball from him to raid the Indian goal in the third minute.
Simon Orchard then dribbled in the circle and sent a cross to Govers to shoot into the goal with the custodian already beaten by the cross. India first came up to the rival circle in the 10th minute, but move wasted as Chinglensana Singh as his reverse push was misdirected and went out.
Australia then converted three successive penalty corners to take a 4-0 lead at half-time. The penalty corner conversions began with Ciriello placing his drag flick on the first penalty corner to the left of goalkeeper PR Sreejesh.
India then twice moved up to the rival circle, but misdirected passes continued to waste the hard work.
At the other end, the second Australian penalty corner was converted by Hayward in the 20th minute after Ciriello's initial shot had struck onrushing defender Raghunath.
Ciriello was on target two minutes later with a low flick that went through the Indian defenses.
The Indian goal had a narrow escape in the 27th minute when the ball went across the goalmouth twice during a melee.
In the next minute, SV Sunil managed to break into the rival circle from the left flank, but was crowded out. In trying to create space, he pushed Aussie skipper Mark Knowles, who seemed to have got hit on the neck and was carried off the pitch on a stretcher while play was held-up.
India's defence held its ground on three Australian penalty corners in the second session and goalkeeper Sreejesh stepped up.