India will need to beat Wales by a big margin to directly qualify for the quarter-finals of the Hockey World Cup, but chief coach Graham Reid on Wednesday said the hosts will not be preoccupied by that thought from the start and will play a normal game. 

With four points from two games India are placed second in Pool ‘D’ and will take on Wales in their last league game here on Thursday. England are leading the pool on account of a better goal difference. India and England are on four points each after two matches, with the latter ahead on goal difference—plus five as against plus three of the home side. “That [knowing what to do before a match] is fair enough, but we will not be fixated on it in the beginning. Doing that will be dangerous,” Ried said.