After enduring a topsy-turvy tournament, the Ajit Pal Singh led Indian team had scripted history, notching up a thrilling 2-1 win over arch-rivals Pakistan on the night of March 15 at the Merdeka Football Stadium in Kuala Lumpur
India will host the Men's Hockey World Cup for the second consecutive time after the country was picked to stage the game's showpiece event in 2023 by the International Hockey Federation (FIH) earlier this month
This was Australia's fifth bronze medal in the history of the tournament. The last time the Kookaburras had to be satisfied with a third-place finish was way back in 1994 in front of their home crowd in Sydney.
Australia are second only to four-time champions Pakistan, having won the world title thrice before, which includes back-to-back gold medals in the last two editions of the tournament in 2010 and 2014.
India took the lead but it lasted only three minutes. Then a superior, smarter and more experienced side took control of the match, taking the lead in the last quarter even as India continue to play the catch-up.
France, the lowest ranked team in the tournament at 20, have already shown the world that rankings hardly have any significance by stunning Olympic champions Argentina 5-3 in the pool stages.