Ipoh, May 13 (PTI) The mood in the Indian hockey team was downcast and introspective today in the wake of its worst-ever defeat at the hands of New Zealand that has pushed the twice defending champion out of medal contention in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup.
India, who share with Australia the record of winning the Azlan Shah Cup five times, came into the tournament with the hopes of completing a hat-trick of titles after winning outright in 2009 and being joint champions with South Korea in 2010.
But they fell out of medal contention after successive losses to Pakistan and New Zealand in the last two outings.