Hockey World Cup Day 7 - Match 4: India vs Wales 4-2

India had a mountain to climb if they wanted to earn the top spot in Pool D and qualify for the quarterfinals without having to go through the crossovers, needing to win the game by 8 goals to overtake England in the standings. But Wales were no pushovers and competed well in the first half, keeping India at bay till the 22nd minute. Shamsher finally found the back of the goal for India with a thundering strike after Harmanpreet’s attempted drag flick was run down by the Welsh first rusher. That would be the only goal India would score in the first half as hopes of topping the group faded for the hosts.

The second half started with an Indian goal by Akashdeep early in the 3rd quarter, but as India searched for more goals, Wales got a chance to launch counters of their own and as the 3rd quarter came to a close, Wales scored twice to stun the crowd and go into the final 15 minutes on level terms. Akashdeep added a second stunning goal at the start of 4th quarter to give India the lead back and Harmanpreet finally opened his account in the final minute of the game as India won a penalty corner after Wales had taken their keeper off for an outfield player. The result confirmed India’s 2nd spot in Pool D and they will now take on New Zealand, who finished 3rd in Pool C, in the crossovers for a spot in the quarterfinals. 

Akashdeep Singh was awarded player of the match for his two stunning goals and said: “We weren’t very good in the first half in terms of executing our plans, but the second half was better. Thank you to all the fans who turned up and please keep supporting us just like this!”