Hockey World Cup 2023, Day 6 Round-up: MLY, NED, ENG conquer; IND misses out on direct Q/F spot

The 2023 FIH Men's Hockey World Cup is into its Day 6 commitments, with the games being held in Bhubaneshwar and Rourkela. The day's opening contest saw Malaysia going up against New Zealand at the Birsa Munda International Hockey Stadium in Rourkela on Sunday. It was a hard-fought match, with the former eclipsing with a 3-2 conquest. It all started in the ninth minute, with Faizal Saari scoring the opener for Malaysia. After a calm second quarter and half-time, Razie Rahim doubled the lead in the 43rd. While New Zealand bounced back in the 52nd, with Hayden Phillips scoring, the next minute, Sam Lane equalised through a penalty corner.

However, in the 57th, Saari scored his brace to restore Malaysia's lead, as it saw off with a 3-2 win. The Malaysians also saw three bookings, with Azuan Hasan and Norsyafiq Sumantri seeing green on the 30th and 38th, respectively, while Amirul Azahar witnessed a yellow on the 50th. The victory takes Malaysia to second place, while NZ is down to third, as both teams look set to compete in the cross-overs for a spot in the quarterfinal.

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In the following Group C encounter, the Netherlands took on Chile. Still, hardly anyone expected it to be a one-sided thrashing from the Dutch, as it won 14-0, knocking out the Chileans emphatically. As for the goal-scorers, they were Jip Janssen (7th, 30th, 35th and 45th), Derck de Vilder (23rd), Thijs van Dam (24th), Thierry Brinkman (26th and 59th), Terrance Pieters (38th), Koen Bijen (41st), Justen Blok (43rd) and Teun Biens (49th).

There was only a booking in the contest, as Chile's Jose Hurtado was green-carded in the 52nd minute. The result keeps the Netherlands at the top, sealing its quarterfinal place. At the same time, the Chileans have been knocked out embarrassingly, as it also happens to be the record hammering in an HWC match. The previous record was 13 of Australia, with Chile again on the receiving end.

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The third clash of the day was from Group D, as Spain was up against England at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneshwar, while the latter came up with a dominating performance to win 4-0. It all began in the 11th minute, with Phil Roper pumping in the opener through a penalty corner.

David Condon doubled the lead in the 22nd, as England led 2-0 at half-time. After a composed third quarter, Nicholas Bandurak fired in the third in the 51st via Zachary Wallace's assist, while the next minute, Liam Ansell scored the fourth winning goal. The game's only booking came during the 52nd, with Marc Vizcanio being green-carded. While the Three Lions stay at the top, sealing their quarterfinals berth, Spain remains in the cross-overs race.

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The day's final contest was also from Group D, as India clashed against Wales in Bhubaneshwar. Chasing a direct quarterfinal berth, the hosts had to win the match by a margin of seven goals or better. However, it was never to be, as the Welsh came up with a stubborn and competitive performance, making the Indians' job tiresome.

The goal-scoring stint began with India, as Shamsher Singh fired in the opener in the 22nd, followed by Akashdeep Singh doubling the lead in the 33rd, with the hosts leading 2-0 at half-time. However, Wales bounced back strongly in the third quarter, with Gareth Furlong successfully converting a PC in the 43rd, followed by Jacob Draper's equaliser a couple of minutes later through another PC.

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Nevertheless, the Indians refused to give up so easily, as in the 46th, Akashdeep restored their lead. At the same time, skipper Harmanpreet Singh converted an easy PC in the final minute to seal a conquest for his side, but without a direct quarterfinal spot. There were only two bookings during the meeting.

Both bookings were from Wales, with Rhodri Furling and Rupert Shipperley getting green cards on the 40th and 56th, respectively. The Men in Blue will face off against Malaysia in the cross-over round for a Q/F berth at the same venue on Sunday, while Wales will be headed home.