The young Indian hockey team dished out some impressive and fast-paced hockey in a Super 4s match against South Korea but an outright victory eluded them as a 4-4 draw pushed them out of the Asia Cup title race, in Jakarta on Tuesday.
Malaysia's 5-0 win over Japan early in the day meant that an outright win became a pre-requisite for India to qualify for the summit clash.
Both India, Malaysia and Korea finished on five points each in the Super 4 stage but the Birendra Lakra-side fell behind on goal difference.