Commonwealth Games: Harmanpreet Singh hat-trick sees India beat Wales 4-1, qualify for semi-finals

Birmingham: India men’s hockey team beat Wales 4-1 in their final group fixture of the 2022 Commonwealth Games on Thursday. With the win, India have qualified for the semi-final. They are likely to top the group with second-placed England needing 15 goals or more against Canada to leapfrog India in Pool B. Coming into the game, India had posted wins over Ghana (11-0) and Canada (8-0) and were held to a draw by England (4-4). By finishing top, they will face second-place New Zealand from Pool A in the last-four. India opened the scoring in the second quarter with Harmanpreet scoring twice in two minutes. The first, in the 13th minute, saw the 26-year-old finding the corner with an acutely struck dragflick. A minute later, it was pure power, something associated with the defender, to thunder the ball into the goal. The teams remained at 2-0 until the 41st minute when Wales’ Daniel Kyriakides was adjudged to have illegally stopped the ball from going into goal with no chance for the goalkeeper. After a lengthy review, India were awarded a penalty stroke which was swiftly dispatched by Harmanpreet for a hat-trick. Gurjant Singh put the game well and truly beyond Wales’ reach in the 49th minute. A drive by an India player was deflected by Gurjant into the Welsh goal. The video review confirmed the ball was dangerously in the air but it was only affecting two India players - which is deemed to be legal. Gareth Furlong scored a consolation goal for Wales in the 55th minute when they converted their second penalty corner opportunity of the match. Benjamin Francis could have added another but for a left hand save from Krishan Pathak. Read all the Latest News , Trending News , Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.