India men's hockey team face a huge setback ahead of their important 2023 Hockey World Cup match against Wales, Thursday. Team India's in-form midfielder Hardik Singh has reportedly been ruled out of India's final pool match against Wales, with doubts over his availability for the remaining tournament, TimesofIndia.com reported.
The star player was reportedly helped off the field after he suffered a hamstring injury in the final minutes of fourth quarter in India vs England Hockey World Cup match, Sunday. Midfielder Rajkumar Pal, who was named as one of the two reserves by Hockey India for World Cup 2023, will replace Hardik Singh if he is ruled out of the tournament.
The Men in Blue will go up against Wales on Thursday in their final Pool D match at Bhubaneshwar's Kalinga Stadium. In another Pool D match on the same day, England will lock horns with Spain. Atter the end of these two matches, the team that tops the pool will straightaway qualify for the Hockey World Cup 2023 quarterfinals.
India's recent match against England ended in a goalless 0-0 draw. The match ended in a draw, but the result ensured England move to top spot in Pool D on account of a better goal difference than India.
Team India’s full squad for Hockey World Cup 2023: PR Sreejesh, Krishna Pathak, Surender Kumar, Harmanpreet Singh (captain), Varun Kumar, Amit Rohidas (Vice Captain), Nilam Sanjeep Xess, Manpreet Singh, Hardik Singh, Nilakanta Sharma, Shamsher Singh, Vivek Sagar Prasad, Akashdeep Singh, Mandeep Singh, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, Abhishek, Sukhjeet Singh, Rajkumar Pal, Jugraj Singh