Hockey World Cup 2023: India Beats Wales 4-2 In Final Pool D Encounter

India has defeated Wales 4-2 in their final Pool D encounter. India will now enter the crossover stages to experience their quarterfinal fate.

India overcame Wales 4-2 on Thursday in Bhubaneshwar in their Pool D match thanks to two goals from Akashdeep Singh.

In the third quarter, India survived an assault by the Welsh team and scored as well thanks to Shamsher and Harmanpreet Singh. 

India will now enter the crossover stage in an attempt to secure a spot in the quarterfinals, but the victory was insufficient.

As England trounced Spain 4-0 earlier in the day to take the lead in Pool D, India was under pressure. 

The home team got off to a strong start, and Mandeep managed to get off a shot in the first minute, but the Wales goalie was up to the challenge. The Indian team applied constant pressure, but Wales was up to the challenge.

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In the ninth minute, Reynolds-Cotterill once again blocked a shot by Nilkanta Sharma.

In the 17th minute, India received their first PC, but Harmanpreet’s shot missed and was quickly cleared. India seized the lead five minutes later through Shamsher, who took advantage of a careless clearing from Wales from an Indian PC. With his shot, the youth player made no errors and handed the hosts the lead.

In the 32nd minute, Akashdeep Singh extended India’s lead to start the third quarter on the right foot. Before completing the move, the India midfielder performed a one-two with Mandeep.

India was still in the lead, but their conversion from a penalty corner was horribly off. In the 42nd minute, against the flow of play, Wales equalized on a PC through Gareth Furlong.

A few minutes later, Draper impacted the game’s outcome when another PC assisted them in making it 2-2. Sreejesh blocked the original shot, but Draper took advantage and beat the Indian goalkeeper.

When Akashdeep made a terrific run into the box and finished in the 46th second to make it 3-2, India got the ball rolling in the fourth quarter.

Once more attempting to score the fourth goal, the home team believed they had succeeded as Abhishek’s shot found the back of the net. However, because a Welsh defender was struck, it was ruled to be a dangerous play.

As the game neared its final five minutes, Wales made an attempt to tie the score, but the Indian defense preserved the score at 3-2.

As India received a PC, Wales had reduced to 10 men and removed their goalkeeper. This time, Harmanpreet scored in the 59th minute to clinch it 4-2 and give India the victory.

In order to secure a spot in the quarterfinals, the hosts will now move on to the crossover stage.