Harmanpreet Singh may have faced flak for missing penalty corners by the dozen but come crunch time, the India men’s hockey team captain stood up and delivered for a 4-0 victory against Pakistan in the Asian Champions Trophy at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium in Chennai on Wednesday.
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The result keeps India unbeaten on the top of the points table, and also knocks the opponents out of the semifinals, dropping them to the fifth spot. They were level with Korea and Japan on five points, but with an inferior goal difference.
India earned five penalty corners and converted three — two by Harmanpreet and one by Jugraj — with a brilliant exchange by Mandeep Singh and Akashdeep Singh resulting in the latter slotting in the final goal five minutes from time. It has also extended India’s unbeaten streak against the arch-rival to 15 games.
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The difference between the two sides became evident as the match wore on. Despite starting on level terms and hoping to take India by surprise with an aggressive play early on, Pakistan’s inexperience, waywardness and inability to switch gears was laid bare during the game. India’s fitness too saw the team stepping up their game towards the end, taking control of the proceedings.
It was a frenetic but tentative and nervous start, as both sides sought to attack and take an early lead while being cautiously wary of conceding any momentum. It led to some exciting exchanges of possession, end-to-end hockey, and scoring chances for both sides rather early in the game. Pakistan seemed to have taken a lead in the 2nd minute through a goal from Abdul Hannan Shahid, until a referral led to a PC, which was saved.
The young Pakistan side was relentless, constantly testing the Indian defence with the trio of Shahid, Afraz and Abdul Rana combining well and Arshad Liaqat and Umar Bhutta tireless in the middle. The Indians got their own chances but, between taking too long to get into shooting position and hurrying with their passes, they missed as many as they created. But Hardik Singh, Vivek Sagar Prasad, Sumit and Shamsher Singh continued to push hard and the constant pressure wore the opposition down, minute by minute. Eventually, a superior India had enough in the tank to outlast the arch-rivals.
Earlier, Malaysia beat Korea 1-0 for its fourth win in five outings to finish second on the points table with Korea in third place, setting up a rematch of the two sides in the semifinals, and Japan registered a narrow 2-1 win against China, scoring at the start and then only at the finish, which turned out to be enough for it to eventually make the top four.