Jones wins 200th cap as Wales beaten by India

Wales' women suffered a 4-1 defeat against India in Hyderabad as Sarah Jones earned her 200th international cap.

Navneet Kaur's hat-trick for the hosts proved decisive, despite a brave effort from the Welsh side.

Betsan Thomas grabbed a goal in the third quarter after winning possession high up the pitch, but Kaur sealed the victory from the penalty spot in the fourth quarter.

Jones, 35, won her 127th cap for Wales having also played 73 times for Great Britain.

Kevin Johnson's Wales side had already been eliminated from World Cup qualification following a 1-0 loss to Scotland and a 3-2 defeat by Uruguay on Monday.

They will face South Korea in the fifth-eighth placed play-offs on Friday.

Sakshi Rana opened the scoring for India after seven minutes with a powerful backstick shot beyond Amy Hughes in the Welsh goal.

Two minutes later Amy Hughes was forced into a brilliant save as India broke away, before Caitlin Witham drew a save from the Indian goalkeeper from a penalty corner in the second quarter.

Kaur doubled India's lead just before the break with Ffion Horrell unable to keep out the hosts' penalty corner.

Wales started brightly in the second half as Betsan Thomas forced a penalty corner but Amy Craven's shot went high over the bar.

Indian made it 3-0 with another penalty corner as Kaur found the target once more.

Thomas grabbed Wales' goal with a brilliant high press before flicking the ball past the Indian goalkeeper, then set up a missed chance for Anja Atkin.

Wales had another great opportunity in the fourth but captain Beth Bingham's penalty stroke was wide of the mark, before Kaur' had the final say as Indai confirmed top spot in the group.

FIH Women's Hockey World Cup qualified teams (12)

Wales will look to utilise their remaining games to gain experience and earn world ranking points.

Six of the 20 players in the Welsh squad featured for the under-21s at the Junior World Cup in December.

It was not to be the perfect day for Jones, who is just four caps away from equalling Leah Wilkinson's Welsh record of 204 international caps.

Jones was part of the GB bronze medal-winning side at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and also competed at the 2024 games in Paris.

Having made her senior debut in 2011, Jones has represented Wales at three Commonwealth Games.

Scotland confirmed their place in the semi-finals of qualifying with a 3-1 win over Uruguay in pool B, though they were beaten to top spot by India on goal difference.

Thar sets up an all-British tie with England, who won all three of their pool games.

The winners of that match will qualify for the Hockey World Cup, and the losers will face the losers of India vs Italy in the third-place play-off on Saturday.