Bhubaneswar, 19 January 2023: In a crucial tie that would determine the table topper in Pool D of the FIH Odisha Hockey Men's World Cup 2023 Bhubaneswar-Rourkela, Indian Men's Hockey Team held their nerves to beat a spirited Welsh side 4-2 here at a packed Kalinga Hockey Stadium on Friday. 

 

Though the hosts won the match, it is England, with two wins (5-0 against Wales and 4-0 against Spain) and a draw (against India) who finished on top of the pool by virtue of goal difference and qualified directly for the Quarterfinal. India, on the other hand, will need to play against New Zealand in the crossover match on Sunday, 22^nd January. 

 

Having registered one win (2-0 against Spain) and one draw (0-0 against England) in pool D so far, the unbeaten Indian Team were on song when they got off the mark against Wales. The forwardline with the help of Manpreet Singh who played lynchpin in India's midfield created some lethal attack inside the Wales 25m mark.  Although the first quarter slipped by without any goals being scored, India made a breakthrough in the 22^nd minute through Shamsher Singh, who was playing his 50^th International match today. 

 

It was Mandeep Singh who had helped India win this PC and while Harmanpreet Singh dragflick was stopped by Welsh's first rusher, Shamsher Singh picked up a perfect rebound and shot the ball away into the post from the top of the circle. The 1-0 lead brought much cheer among the Indian fans present in large numbers at the iconic Kalinga Stadium, which is hosting the marquee World Cup for the second consecutive time. 

 

The match, however, took a sharp turn in the third quarter where as many as three goals were scored. India had made a great start to the second half of the match with a PC being awarded to the home team less than a minute into the third quarter. It was Abhishek who had showed resistance in the circle, fighting for the ball that resulted in a foot foul by Wales. But the Welsh were well-prepared for India's ace dragflicker Harmanpreet Singh and stopped him from converting. In the following minutes, Akashdeep Singh and Mandeep Singh worked a brilliant combination to score a fine field goal in the 33^rd minute. 

 

The following minutes though saw Wales testing the Indian defence as they won back-to-back PCs and to the surprise of the home crowd, they ended up converting both PCs in the 43^rd and 45^th minute. Wales first goal came from Gareth Furlong and their second goal came from Jacob Draper who picked up a good rebound to put it past India's experienced goalie PR Sreejesh.

 

With the score reading 2-2, India was under the pump and had to hold their nerves to overcome this spirited performance by Wales. Akashdeep Singh, who has shown sublime form in this tournament struck again in the 46^th minute fetching India a crucial 3-2 lead. India's fourth goal came in the 60^th minute when Harmanpreet Singh finally broke the jinx and scored from a PC to end the match with 4-2 on the board. 

 

At 1900 hours IST on 22nd January 2023, India will take on New Zealand in the crossover match at the FIH Odisha Hockey Men's World Cup 2023 Bhubaneswar-Rourkela.

Matches will be live on Star Sports Select, Star Sports First, Star Sports2.