Vice-captain Sanjay scored a brilliant hat-trick but it was not enough as defending champions India were stunned by unfancied France in their opening Pool B match of the FIH Junior Hockey World Cup, in Bhubaneswar, on Wednesday.
Despite taking a two-goal lead, India persisted with their aggressive style, maintaining pressure on Canada. However, they were unable to find more goals in the opening quarter as it ended 2-0 in their favour.
Defending champions India's dream of a second consecutive FIH Junior Men's Hockey World Cup title was shattered after a 2-4 defeat to six-time winners Germany in the semi-finals, in Bhubaneswar, on Friday. The Germans will take on Argentina in the final.
The Kookaburras had pulled ahead twice in the game, thanks to goals by Tom Wickham, but the Netherlands managed to equalise through goals by Mink van der Weerden and Jeroen Hertzberger.
Coach Harendra defends junior players' selection for World Cup
The Indian men's hockey team brought glory to the country when they ended a 41-year Olympic medal drought after defeating Germany 5-4 at the Tokyo Olympics to win the bronze medal in August.
India had seven points from four matches, ahead of hosts Australia on goal difference, with New Zealand finishing third with only three points from their four matches.
India's chances of going through depends on the result of the last Pool A match between Ireland and Great Britain, later in the day.
India continued their dismal show in the crucial tour Down Under, losing 1-3 against Australia to suffer their fourth consecutive defeat in the five-match men's hockey Test series, in Perth on Friday.
India midfielder Manpreet Singh will take over the captaincy from PR Sreejesh in the Asian Champions Trophy in Muscat next month, marking the hockey team's first major tournament after the retirement of Sardar Singh.
The Indian hockey team entered the Olympic semifinals for a second successive edition but Lakshya Sen's zealous push for a gold turned into a hunt for bronze on a bitter-sweet Sunday for India at the Paris Games.
Hockey: India v Australia, QF
India aim to avoid complacency against Pakistan
The Indian defenders had another good day in office as they didn't put a foot wrong to deny Italy any open chance.
India will next play mighty Australia on Sunday.
From Prime Minister Narendra Modi to eminent sports personalities, the country was wholesome in its praise for the Indian hockey team's gutsy effort.
The match remained scoreless until the fourth quarter when Jugraj Singh found the back of the net, securing a dramatic 1-0 win for India.
Australia's quest for a record hat-trick of titles started with a hard-fought 2-1 win over Ireland in the opening Pool D match of the men's hockey World Cup, in Bhubaneswar, on Friday.
P R Sreejesh emerged hero with a superb performance under the bar as the Indian men's hockey team beat Great Britain 4-2 in the shootout to enter the semi-finals.
While India downed China, Ashari struck twice in Malaysia's 3-1 win over Pakistan.
'We are coming into the World Cup with players needing to pay from their own pocket. They paid to be part of the camps. Our challenge is to get the funding in place. We are lucky to have a few sponsors but the sponsorships we have don't really cover the budget of the World Cup.'
India lost 2-4 against the Netherlands in shootout after their return leg FIH Pro League match ended in a 1-1 draw in Rourkela on Wednesday.
Indian hockey fans Down Under were in for a rude surprise on Saturday. They turned up in numbers only to see India get mauled by England 6-0 in the women's hockey bronze medal match at the Commonwealth Games.
While Belgium dominated the first half, India did well to roar back in the second session. Belgium went into the half-time break with a 1-0 lead, but India fought back well to keep pressure on the opponents in the 2nd half.
The Indian men's hockey team's biggest gain this year was the emergence of some talented fresh faces.
More matches between arch-rivals India and Pakistan will only benefit both sides as well as continent's hockey
Winning the eighth Junior Men's Asia Cup hockey tournament is just the beginning for the Indian colts; they need to frequently face "sterner tests" to become world beaters, feels coach Harendra Singh.
In the first quarter-final of the day, Germany eked out a narrow 3-1 win over Spain via the shoot-out after both the teams were locked at 2-2 in regulation time. Later, Argentina beat the Netherlands 2-1.
India will next play arch-rivals Pakistan in the round-robin stage on Friday.
India's hockey coach Harendra Singh apologised after a 2-1 quarter-final defeat by the Netherlands ended their hopes of winning the World Cup on home soil.
The two sides have shared the spoils since 2013. India and Netherlands have faced each other nine times since 2013, winning four apiece while one game finished in a draw.
India won the Asia Cup hockey title after a ten-year hiatus, beating Malaysia 2-1 in the final in Dhaka on Sunday.
Pakistan and Japan gave it their all in the Asian Champions Trophy round-robin match before settling for a thrilling 3-3 draw in Chennai on Sunday.
Defending champions South Korea hold Pakistan to 1-1 draw
The age-old malady of inconsistency remained unaddressed but Indian hockey did take baby steps towards global success in 2017, a year which reaffirmed the nation's continental supremacy in the sport.
A large contingent of officials and media were present at the airport to receive the team, which finished fifth in the just-concluded Hockey World League Semi-finals in Antwerp.
Indian eves returned empty-handed from the four-nation invitational tournament, in Darwin, after losing 1-2 to Japan in the bronze medal play-off match, on Saturday.
USA, ranked 24th in the world rankings, scored the solitary goal of the match through Abigail Tamer in the 16th minute of the Pool B match.
Hosts Germany overpowered India 2-0 in an action-packed encounter to end its campaign at the Three Nations Invitational hockey tournament on a winning note.
'I play in the present without thinking about the buzz in the background,' says Vivek Sagar Prasad, who has just won the FIH Rising Star of the Year award.
