India Defeats Austria Again, Advances to Seventh-Place Game

Goals and assists

1. Atwal (JK Gill, Dhaliwal), 19. JK Gill (Dhaliwal), 22. Nijjar (Raman), 35. Phangura (S. Gill, C. Dosanjh), 44. S. Gill (Dhaliwal, Atwal) – 7. Floriantschitz (Tschurnig, Groyer), 42. Kahlhammer (Ortner, Potocnik)

Referees

Jakub Musil, Vilém Jonák

Spectators

69

India

Kailay - Badh, Dial, C. Dosanjh, Jaisen Gill, S. Gill, Kaila, Sahota, Shaan Shergill, J. Virdee - Atwal, Brar, Chima, Dhaliwal, S. Dosanjh, JK Gill, Grewal, Daunte Nagra, Deven Nagra, Nijjar, Phangura, Raman, Sehej Shergill

Austria

Moser - Hintermann, Kronig, Krumpl, Pirsch, Santler, Tschurnig - Bernthaler, Floriantschitz, Gradnitzer, Gratzer, Groyer, Kahlhammer, Kusternig, Ortner, Potocnik, Thaler, Wuntschek, Ďurický

COACHES´ REACTIONS

Karny Dhillon (IND): "We knew they were going to come out with a different game plan than in the round robin. They played hard and strong right from the start, but we managed to create some early chances and opened the scoring. Even though they tied it up, we expected them to be resilient. They played a really good match and were well-coached, but our guys found their game, stuck to our process, and came out with the win. Now it's on to tomorrow's gold medal game, and let's hope we can be successful. We are also super grateful to all the fans who supported us. The ISBHF has been very welcoming in our first year back after nine years."

Ján Ďurický (AUT): "My feelings are really mixed right now. I felt a great energy from the team, and I was deeply convinced that the guys could pull it off today. I knew that if we fought hard, we could beat India. They have incredibly fast players, and their movement with the ball is outstanding—that was definitely the most critical factor of the game. Still, we were confident we could match their level, which we did. Unfortunately, games like this are decided by small details; two or three individual mistakes and a failed 5-on-3 power play ultimately cost us the match. Looking at the bigger picture, the team's attitude was excellent. The boys were ready to fight for the result and proved that we can play high-quality ball hockey in Austria. Sadly, it comes with a bitter ending. We love and appreciate every single fan because without their support, none of this would be possible. The guys see all the messages coming from back home on Instagram and other platforms, and it gives us so much energy. Everyone believed we could do it, which makes this defeat even harder to take. But that’s sports—you have to go into the game believing in victory, leave everything out there, and even with a tough loss, be proud of the effort."