HULUNBUIR CITY: Pakistan succumbed to a 2-1 defeat against arch-rivals India in the ongoing Asian Hockey Champions Trophy 2024 here at the Moqi Hockey Training Base on Saturday.
Pakistan started the blockbuster clash on a high as they took the lead just 10 minutes into the first quarter, courtesy of a precise assist from Hannan Shahid, who fed the ball inside the circle to Nadeem.
Nadeem effortlessly smashed the ball into the net to give Pakistan a head start.
Pakistan’s lead, however, was short-lived as India earned a penalty corner.
India’s skipper Harmanpreet Singh took the penalty corner for India and successfully sent his drag-flick into the bottom-right corner, helping India equalise just a few minutes later.
The defending champions took the lead in the second quarter when Abhishek fed the ball to Harmanpreet near the circle, who similarly converted it into a goal.
The remaining two quarters of the blockbuster Asian Hockey Champions Trophy clash between arch-rivals Pakistan and India remained goalless despite both sides making ferocious attacks on each other’s goalposts.
The 2-1 victory over Pakistan, meant India won all of their group-stage fixtures and topped the standings with 15 points. Whereas, Pakistan had two victories and as many draws before their defeat against India.
Remember, Pakistan have already qualified for the semi-final of the ongoing Asian Hockey Champions Trophy 2024 after thumping China 5-1 on Thursday.
Abdul Rehman opened the scoring for Pakistan before Nadeem Ahmed and Hannan Shahid scored two goals each to secure a dominant 5-1 victory for the Green Shirts.
This is Pakistan’s second consecutive victory in the tournament as they defeated Japan 2-1 yesterday after two drawn games.
Ahmad Nadeem opened the scoring against Japan in the ninth minute after finding Shahid Hannan and sending the ball to the back of the net. Sufyan Khan soon doubled Pakistan’s lead in the 21st minute with a sublime drag flick.
However, Raiki Fujishima helped Japan make a subtle comeback six minutes later and reduced the deficit.
Japan made efforts to level the scores, but the Green Shirts’ dominant gameplay maintained their lead until the final hooter.
Prior to this game, Pakistan’s second fixture in the Asian Hockey Champions Trophy ended in a 2-2 draw as they failed to defend their narrow one-goal lead in the final quarter against South Korea.
South Korea opened the scoring in the dying minutes of the second quarter, courtesy of Hyun Jigwang. Their lead remained intact until the third quarter and it appeared that Pakistan were closing in on their first defeat in the ongoing tournament.
The national team, however, made an astounding comeback as Shahid Hanan scored back-to-back last-minute goals to give the Green Shirts what appeared to be a decisive lead.
But just a few seconds before the final whistle, South Korea equalized through Kim Sunghyun and denied Pakistan a victory.
Pakistan tasted the same fortune in their Asian Hockey Champions Trophy opener against Malaysia. They started their campaign with a 2-2 draw despite dominating the majority of the match.
The Green Shirts started the game strongly, taking the lead in the second quarter, thanks to a goal by Sufyan Khan.
In the third quarter, Nadeem Ahmed extended their lead with another goal, before Malaysia made a comeback with a goal from the penalty corner.
Pakistan were cruising towards victory with a 2-1 lead, however, Aiman Rozemi’s late goal helped Malaysia level the scores in the dying minutes of the game.
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