China: Captain Harmanpreet Singh's brace helped India beat their arch-rivals Pakistan in their final group-stage clash of the Asian Hockey Champions Trophy at the Moqi Hockey Training Base here on Saturday. Harmanpreet scored both goals which India managed to score as the Men in Blue emerged triumphant by 2-1. Notably, it was India's 17th straight win against Pakistan.
It was India's fifth consecutive win in the six-team round-robin competition. Pakistan took the lead through Ahmad Nadeem (8th minute) before Harmanpreet Singh (13th, 19th) converted two penalty corners to hand India the win.
Before this match, both India and Pakistan had qualified for the last four rounds. The top four sides from the round-robin format qualify for the semifinal scheduled for September 16, with the final slated for September 17.
India had outplayed Pakistan 10-2 in their last face-off at the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games. Meanwhile, the Harmanpreet-led side beat Pakistan 4-0 during the Chennai edition of the tournament.
As with any Indo-Pak hockey match, the first quarter saw end-to-end action with both teams giving their all to gain 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 Hannan Shahid's brilliant work from the midfield that split the Indian defence and Nadeem found himself at the right place to direct the ball into the Indian goal.
Captain Harmanpreet Singh leads Team India to yet another famous victory against Pakistan. 🥳💪🏻
— Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) September 14, 2024
2️⃣ penalty corners scored in the first half were enough to win this game after Pakistan took the lead in the game in Q1.
Next up Semi Final on Monday. More details to follow.… pic.twitter.com/NWpH5si6aT
A stunned India kept up their composure, patiently built their attacks, and secured their first penalty corner in the 13th minute. Skipper Harmanpreet scored with a powerful drag-flick to the left of a hapless Pakistan goalkeeper, Munneb. He didn't stop there as the Indians continued to press in the second quarter and gained their second penalty corner in the 19th minute. Once again Pakistan's defence had no answer as Harmanpreet was bang on target as India went up 2-1.
While India was 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.
Q3 Ends:
— Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) September 14, 2024
The game begins with the same intensity but both defences standing tall.
The scoreline remains the same.
India 🇮🇳 2 - 1 🇵🇰Pakistan
Harmanpreet Singh 13' (PC), 19' (PC)
Nadeem Ahmad 8'#IndVsPak #MenInBlue #PrideOfIndia #GameOn #IndiaKaGame #HockeyIndia #ACT24
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 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 the yellow card, which resulted in a 10-minute suspension after the umpire went for a referral for serious misconduct. Meanwhile, in the first match of the day, Malaysia and Korea played out a 3-3 draw.
