Men's FIH Hockey World Cup 2023: Injured Hardik Singh replaced by Raj Kumar Pal in Indian squad

India’s attacking midfielder Hardik Singh has been ruled out of the FIH Men's Hockey World Cup 2023 after failing to recover from a hamstring injury he suffered during the pool stage match against England.

Hardik Singh will be replaced by Raj Kumar Pal in the Indian squad for the Crossover match against New Zealand and subsequent contests.

"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, it has been decided that we will replace Hardik with Raj Kumar Pal,” India’s chief coach Graham Reid informed.

The injury to Hardik Singh comes as a major blow to India. The 24-year-old was part of India’s Tokyo 2020 bronze medal-winning team and scored a goal in India's 2-0 win against Spain in their 2023 FIH Hockey World Cup opener.

Hardik Singh was also the standout player for India against England in the second match but had to limp off the field after sustaining an injury with just over three minutes remaining.

The Indian attacker missed the final pool match against Wales, which India won 4-2.

Having finished second in Pool D behind England on goal difference, India need to beat New Zealand in the Crossover match on Sunday to qualify for the quarter-finals.

If they win against the Kiwis, Harmanpreet Singh and Co. will go up against defending champions Belgium in the final eight.

India have won the hockey World Cup once in 1975. At the last edition in 2018, India lost to the Netherlands 2-1 in the quarter-finals.