‘Chak de India’ – Fans ecstatic after India beat Wales 4-2 in FIH Hockey World Cup 2023
India will face New Zealand in the next game.
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Jan 20, 2023 1:14 pm
India Hockey Team (Source: Twitter)
Bhuvneshwar hosted four consecutive games in the FIH Hockey World Cup 2023 on Thursday. India played the final game against Wales, when England and Spain finished playing their encounter India had to score eight goals to finish atop the group. India had to score eight goals in 60 minutes and four quarters. They had the equation in front of them to work with.
Things did not start on the best of notes for India. The Indian forwards were able to induce some opportunities in the opening phase of the game but the England goalkeeper Toby Reynolds-Cotterill did not allow India to score and stood like a rock in goal. India had to manage to play the encounter with one player down because Hardik Singh was not there in the squad.
Harmanpreet Singh scored his first goal of the World Cup
Akashdeep Singh stepped up to the plate and showed what he was made of. The 28-year-old forward helped India get three points. India and Wales were neck and neck and kept the scores level at the end of the first quarter. Samsher Singh scored a goal in the second quarter and put India in front. Then Akashdeep Singh and Mandeep Singh worked together to net another goal for India to keep the hosts in front at 2-0.
In the 42nd minute of the second quarter, Wales converted the penalty corner. And then in the 44th minute, they scored another goal off another corner to level the match. In the final quarter, Akashdeep came to answer India’s call to help and with the score at 2 apiece. He sent a roaring backhand into the goal to put India in front. India scored their last goal of the encounter in the 59th minute to win the game 4-2.
The last goal was scored by skipper Harmanpreet Singh, who was goalless coming into the game. India could not win by eight goals and finish atop the group. But the form of Akashdeep Singh augurs well for India going into the next few games. The fact that the forward was able to do well in crunch moments will help him deliver more game-changing performances going forward.
Let us take a look at the reactions on Twitter:
Intense scenes at Kalinga Stadium where India won a thrilling match against Wales 4-2 in the Hockey World Cup 🏑 #IndiavsWales
Makes me wonder has there been a sports tournament (apart from Quidditch) in fantasy literature? pic.twitter.com/AaRQk5hvcG
— Gourav Mohanty | ⚔️SONS OF DARKNESS⚔️ (@MohantyGourav7) January 20, 2023
Chak De India! The Indian hockey team performed splendidly in a thrilling match in the #HockeyWorldCup League, defeating the Wales hockey team by a margin of 4-2. My heartiest congratulations to all the players of the Indian hockey team for this victory.#INDvsWAL#HockeyIndiapic.twitter.com/nVW6lFS7Zq
— Col Rajyavardhan Rathore (Modi Ka Parivar) (@Ra_THORe) January 20, 2023
Performance of Team India at Hockey World Cup so far :
Positives : Harjit Singh, Akashdeep Singh, tight defence, only 1 goal conceded to Penalty Corners.
Negatives : Conversion from PCs & from the circle has been dismal, form of skipper Harmanpreet, short passes.
Harmanpreet Singh scores a hat-trick and Gurjant Singh scores one as India bt Wales 4-1 to top group. In all likelihood, it will be a Ind vs NZ semi-final if Eng doesn't beat Canada by 15-goal margin.#CWG2022#B2022#CommonwealthGames2022#India#CWG22#India4CWG2022
Not amused by seeing ind vs Wales hockey match till now. If we want to compete with the likes of Netherlands Belgium Aus, we need to finish better than what we are currently doing.#indvswal#HockeyWorldCup2023
