India continued their dominant run in the 2024 Asian Champions Trophy Hockey with a hard-fought 2-1 win over arch-rivals Pakistan in Hulunbuir (China) on Friday. India suffered a setback with Pakistan taking an early lead through Nadeem Ahmed in the eighth minute before skipper Harmanpreet Singh pulled the Paris Olympic bronze medallist on level terms in the 13th minute.
Also Read: IND vs PAK Match Highlights
At the start of the second quarter, Harmanpreet sounded the board again to give India the lead which they held onto till the final hooter went off.
Pakistan took the lead through Nadeem (8th minute) before Harmanpreet (13th, 19th) converted two penalty corners to consign Pakistan to their first loss of this tournament.
As like any Indo-Pak hockey match, the first quarter saw end-to-end action with both the teams giving their all to gain the bragging rights. The Indians started brightly dominating the early share of exchanges but Pakistan grew in confidence as the match progressed.
India were at the receiving end for the first time in the tournament when Pakistan drew the first blood.
It was a selfless Hannan Shahid whose brilliant work from the midfield split the Indian defence and Nadeem found himself at the right place to direct the ball into the Indian goal. A stunned India kept up their composure and patiently built their attacks and secured their first penalty corner in the 13th minute and skipper Harmanpreet scored with a powerful drag-flick to the left of a hapless Pakistan goalkeeper Munneb.
The Indians continued to press in the second quarter and gained their second penalty corner in the 19th minute and once again Pakistan defence had no answer as Harmanpreet was bang on target as India went up 2-1.
While India were the better side in terms of possession in the second quarter, Pakistan also had their chances, penetrating the rival circle on quite a few occasions. Just 45 seconds from half-time Pakistan had an opportunity to draw level through a penalty corner but they wasted the chance as Sufyan Khan’s flick, which hit the top of the bar, was rejected for a raised ball.
The Indians sustained possession after the change of ends and secured their third penalty corner in the 37th minute, but Pakistan defended bravely. Thereafter, a sustained spell of attacks helped Pakistanis to bag four penalty corners in quick succession but lacked the firepower to breach the Indian defence.
In the last quarter, both the sides stitched relentless attacks and India secured three more penalty corners but failed to convert. The match also witnessed a heated encounter between Harmanpreet and Pakistan’s Ashraf Waheed Rana after the latter shouldered Jugraj Singh inside the Indian circle.
Jugraj was felled by the impact and was seen grimacing in pain. Harmanpreet and Jarmanpreet Singh were quick to counter the offender. The on-field umpires and Pakistan captain Butt and other players of both teams rushed in to control the situation but Rana was shown yellow card, which resulted in a 10-minute suspension after the umpire went for a referral for a serious misconduct.
Defending champions India have already qualified for the semifinals of the continental tournament and have finished their league stage fixtures by winning five matches in a row and leading the points table. Pakistan too are into the semis.
India have been in prime form throughout having beaten hosts China 3-0 in their opening clash before outclassing Japan 5-1. Then they swept aside Malaysia 8-1 before registering a 3-1 victory against Korea.
Pakistan, on the other hand, have been resilient in the campaign. They started with two draws in a row before beating Japan 2-1 and then China 5-1.
India have enjoyed an upper-hand over Pakistan. Before today’s clash, at the Hangzhou Asian Games last year, India thrashed Pakistan 10-2. A few months before that, the Indians beat Pakistan 4-0 when the ACT was held in Chennai. At the Asia Cup in Jakarta in 2022, a relatively young Indian side held Pakistan to a 1-1 draw while at the 2021 ACT in Dhaka, India won 4-3 to clinch the bronze medal.
With PTI Inputs
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