India finished the Pool D of the Men's FIH Hockey World Cup 2023 with a 4-2 win against Wales at Kalinga Stadium, Bhubaneswar. At the end of Pool D, the home team finished in the second position as they will now have to play the Cross-overs round to qualify for the Quarter-finals of this tournament.
Despite Wales’ stunning equaliser in the late third quarter, the hosts majorly dominated the game to seal a deserving win.
England and India both finished Pool D with seven points each. But England ultimately advanced to the Quarter-finals by finishing on top of Pool D due to having a better goal difference than the hosts. While the home team and Spain will now play the Cross-overs round, Wales will now participate in the lower Classification round.
In the Cross-overs, the home team India will face New Zealand (3rd in Pool C), and Spain will meet against Malaysia (2nd in Pool C) at Kalinga Stadium (Bhubaneswar) on 22nd January.
Brief match report: India vs Wales
Q1 (Final Scoreline): India 0 – Wales 0
The hosts majorly dominated in the first quarter and even reached closure to the first goal, but the scoreline wasn’t affected in the 15 minutes.
Q2 (Final Scoreline): India 1 (Shamsher Singh 21’) – Wales 0
India continued their good touch in the second quarter, and Shamsher Singh ultimately opened India’s scoreline in the 21st minute. It was a penalty corner opportunity for the hosts, where Shamsher smashed to the goal on a rebound chance.
Half-time
Q3 (Final Scoreline): India 2 (Akashdeep Singh 32’) – Wales 2 (Gareth Furlong 42’; Jacob Draper 44’)
The hosts once again dominated in the major part despite struggling due to lack of finishing, but Wales made an outstanding comeback late with quick penalty corners.
Akashdeep Singh scored a field goal in the 32nd minute.
In the last three minutes of the half, Wales scored twice from the penalty corners to level the scoreline. Gareth Furlong scored their first goal of the match in the 42nd minute, which was also India’s first goal conceding in this competition.
Just 45 seconds before the third quarter whistle, Jacob Draper scored the equaliser after Furlong’s shot was blocked by the home goalkeeper PR Sreejesh.
Q4 (Final Scoreline): India 4 (Akashdeep Singh 45’; Harmanpreet Singh 59’) – Wales 2
Akashdeep Singh started the last quarter with a solid field goal around the 42nd second after the kick-off whistle. The hosts then maintained the momentum by continuing their strong performance.
In the final minute, Harmanpreet Singh scored from a penalty corner to secure India’s victory.
Full-time
Player of the Match award: Akashdeep Singh
Final Pool D points table
Team | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals For | Goals Against | Goals Difference | Points | Qualification |
England | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 0 | +9 | 7 | Quarter-finals |
India | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 2 | +4 | 7 | Cross-overs |
Spain | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 7 | -2 | 3 | Cross-overs |
Wales | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 14 | -11 | 0 | Classification |
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