After playing a goalless draw against England, the home team India had some disappointment in its camp. One of its finest midfields on display here, Hardik Singh, has been ruled out of play for the thyroid and final pool game. India is to take on bottom-placed Wales and need a big win by a minimum margin of six goals in case it wants to qualify directly for the quarter-finals.
While playing against England, Hardik had an unfortunate collision with an English player in the 58th minute. Initial reports suggest that Hardik has a hamstring injury which may take a while to heal. Though the Indian team has an option available for replacing him with one of two standbys, but it would like to wait and get a medical expert report before taking a final decision. If the doctors feel that he can recover and play subsequent matches in the knockout round, the team management may keep on board. In case, doctors find the injury to be serious that may take a couple of weeks for complete recovery, he may get replaced by Rajkumar Pal, a midfielder in the standbys. Once Rajkumar Pal comes in then further participation of Hardik in the ongoing World Cup will vanish. The team management has reportedly gone for wait and watch before taking a final decision. It is for certain that Hardik will not play the game against Wales.
Meanwhile, the International Hockey Federation has allowed New Zealand Hockey to replace Jake Smith with Greentree Connor.
Prabhjot Singh