Favourites India overcame a goal deficit to edge out Spain 2-1 thereby sealing a semi-final spot in the men's Junior Hockey World Cup, here on Thursday.
The hosts will meet Australia in the semi-final on Friday.
It was a far from impressive performance by the Indians, who are touted as title contenders as they fumbled in almost all departments of the game.
A packed Major Dhyan Chand Stadium stadium heaved a sigh of relief when Simranjeet Singh (57th) equalised for India after Marc Serrahima gave Spain the lead in the 22nd minute.
The Indians earned as many as nine penalty corners but could utilise just two with Harmanpreet converting the hosts' eighth set piece in the 66th minute to clinch a last four berth.
By virtue of this win, the Indian colts not only continued their domination over Spain but also managed to avenge their loss against the same opponents in the bronze medal match of the 2005 edition of the World Cup in Rotterdam.
Even though they enjoyed their share of ball possession, Indians looked completely off-colour in the opening half.
The Indian colts though created more openings but Spain utilised the lone opportunity thet got in the first half.
Spain took the lead in the 22nd minute through Serrahima's penalty corner conversion much to the stunned silence of the partisan crowd.
India finally tasted success in the 57th minute from their fifth penalty corner. This time too, the hosts failed to stop the push but Sumit did enough to get a shot at the goal which was saved by the Spanish goalkeeper and from the rebound Simranjeet scored to the delight of the home fans.
In the last 10 minutes, India got four more penalty corners and the penultimate one was eventually converted by Harmanpreet to take the lead for the first time in the match.
Earlier in the day, Belgium defeated Argentina in a shoot-out to set up a semi-final clash against six-time champions and title holders Germany.
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