India lose yet again, finish disappointing 8th in WC

India’s disastrous hockey World Cup campaign ended with a 2-4 defeat against Argentina as the hosts finished a lowly eighth in the mega-event here today.

Argentina, meanwhile, registered their second seventh place finish in the tournament since 1994 when they defeated Korea on penalty strokes.

The Argentines started their campaign here with three straight defeats but bounced back strongly with three consecutive wins, including today’s victory.

The eighth place finish can be seen as a marked improvement for the Indians who were 11th in the last edition of the tournament in Monchengladbach, Germany.

India could dig out only one victory against Pakistan in their first encounter and lost four and drew one out of the six matches they played in the tournament.

Incidentally, it was against the same opponents that India lost 2-3 in the ninth-12th classification match in Monchengladbach.

For Argentina Martin Lucas Villa (43rd minute, 45th) scored two goals, while Tomas Innocente Argento (28th) and Facundo Callioni (46th) scored one each in the seventh-eighth place classification match.

The Indians reduced the margin through Sandeep Singh (42nd) and Shivendra Singh (49th) at the floodlit Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium.