Hockey World Cup 2023: Injured Hardik Singh ruled out after failing to recover from hamstring injury

Injured midfielder Hardik Singh was ruled for the remainder of the 2023 FIH Men's Hockey World Cup on Saturday. It has dealt a big blow to India ahead of its crossovers game versus New Zealand on Sunday. The 24-year-old Hardik failed hasn't recovered from a hamstring injury he suffered during the closing stages India's second group contest versus England on January 15. His shortage will be a significant setback for India, as it has been struggling in its attack. It will face defending champion Belgium in the quarterfinals if it conquers New Zealand on Sunday. Hardik, who lacerated an illuminated solo goal in India's 2-0 victory over Spain in the opening game, will be replaced by alternate player Raj Kumar Pal.

Hardik did not play against Wales. "Having rested the youngster for the match against Wales and subsequent assessment, Hardik has now been ruled out of the FIH Odisha Hockey Men's World Cup 2023 Bhubaneswar-Rourkela," Hockey India (HI) announced in a statement.

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Talking about the decision made by the team management, chief coach Graham Reid said: "Overnight, we had to make the difficult decision of replacing Hardik Singh in the Indian team for Sunday's match vs New Zealand and the subsequent World Cup matches. While the injury was not as severe as the initial incident suggested, time was not on our side."

"After our ongoing thorough rehabilitation process and functional and on-field assessment today, it has been decided that we will replace Hardik with Raj Kumar Pal. While it is extremely disappointing for Hardik personally, of course, given how well he played in our first two matches, we are excited at the prospects of Raj Kumar joining the group for the remaining World Cup matches," Reid added.

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Having finished second in Group D, India must prevail versus New Zealand in the crossover contest to book a quarterfinal spot. India needed to defeat Wales -- eight zones below them in world rankings -- by an eight-goal margin to top Group D and qualify instantly for the quarterfinals. However, the home team could only script a 4-2 conquest on Thursday. India is now up against the Black Sticks, placed third in Group C with a victory and a couple of losses.