Indian midfielder Hardik Singh failed to recover from injury and was on Saturday ruled out of the FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup. This is a big blow for India ahead of the crossover match against New Zealand on Sunday. Hardik was injured during India’s second pool match against England on 15 January. After this he could not play in the third match against Wales. Hardik’s absence is a blow for India as their frontline is already struggling.
If India beat New Zealand in the crossover on Sunday, they will face Belgium in the quarter-finals. Rajkumar Pal has come in place of Hardik, who scored a solitary goal in India’s first match against Spain. Hockey India said in a statement, “Hardik will not be able to play further in the FIH World Cup. The decision was taken against Wales after resting him and then assessing his injury.
Commenting on the team management’s decision, Indian coach Graham Reid said, “We have had to make a difficult decision to replace Hardik Singh for Sunday’s match against New Zealand and the upcoming World Cup matches.” He said, “We did not initially think his injury was too serious but after watching him on the field today after the rehabilitation process, we came to know that he will take time to return.” It has been decided that we will replace Hardik with Raj Kumar Pal in the team. ,
Disappointed with the injury, Hardik wrote on his Instagram, “Unfortunately my dream of playing in the World Cup was shattered due to hamstring injury. I never wanted to leave the field like this, especially in the World Cup. They say that there is a reason behind everything and I am trying to find out why this happened to me. It will take some time.
He wrote, “It is disappointing that I can no longer live up to the trust and contribute to the team. But the tournament is not over for us yet. It’s really just getting started, with the pre-quarterfinal match.” Forward Mandeep Singh injured his knee during team training on Saturday and went with the team physio. He took no further part in the training. When asked about this in the pre-match press conference, Reid simply said, “You’ll figure it out.”
