Black Sticks Women have been foiled by another penalty shootout at Birmingham, this time in their Commonwealth Games bronze-medal playoff against India on Sunday (NZ time).
With the wounds of their semi-final shootout defeat to England still fresh, the Kiwis were only able to convert one of their penalty attempts, after a dramatic finish to regulation time.
Down a goal with less than 30 seconds remaining, New Zealand were awarded a penalty stroke that was clinically converted by captain Olivia Merry to tie the scores.
The stroke canceled out India's second-quarter strike, as Salima Tete gave her side a deserved lead with a slick reverse stick finish.
India took the momentum early in the match and never let go, with Grace O'Hanlon's brilliant goal-keeping ensuring New Zealand stayed in the contest.
They seemed destined for victory until the late penalty stroke gave New Zealand one final chance to atone for their shootout stumbles against England, only for Hope Ralph, Rose Tynan, Katie Doar, and Olivia Shannon to fail to convert their attempts, as they fell 2-1 on penalties.
The defeat rounds out a disappointing campaign from the defending champions, who won gold at Gold Coast 2018. Black Sticks Men bowed out at the semi-final stage against South Africa.
