Harmanpreet Singh stood bent double, disappointment writ large on his face. In a season of highs and lows, somehow Soorma Hockey Club gave themselves a chance. A miniscule chance, but chance nonetheless. They needed to win by seven goals to snatch fourth place away from HIL Governing Council. In front of them were SG Pipers who had endured yet another wretched season, so it wasn’t out of the realm of possibilities. In the end though, Soorma could manage “only” a 6–1 victory against Pipers in the final Men’s Hockey India League (HIL) group stage match. Soorma made a high-intensity start, led by Jeremy Hayward’s (2’, 7’, 34’, 45’) thunderous drag flicks and a counter-attacking strike from Lucas Martinez (11’). Nicolas Keenan (47’) later helped Soorma move into touching distance of qualification in the final quarter but the Pipers held on in the dying minutes to break Soorma’s hopes of advancing to the Qualifiers. Soorma began the game on the front foot, forcing the Pipers back early and earning a penalty corner within the opening minutes. …