In a nail biting match held at the Moqi Hockey Training Base in Hulunbuir, China, the Indian men’s hockey team clinched a victory against their long time rivals Pakistan with a close 2-1 score in the final league match of the Asian Champions Trophy 2024. The defending champions did not lose any match in the group stage and won all their five matches in the process.

The match was as expected a fierce battle between the two hockey giants who were battling it out for the title. Pakistan opened the scoring in the 7th minute through Ahmad Nadeem who beat the Indian defence to score. But India did not lose hope and came back to the game with a lot of vigor and strength. India’s goal came in the 15th minute through the stick of captain Harmanpreet Singh who has been in splendid form throughout the tournament through a well-converted penalty corner.

The second quarter was a tactical affair with both sides struggling to find the back of the net and the match was goalless. The Indian forwards attempted to score and put pressure on the Pakistan side but the Pakistani defense was strong and did not allow India to score. The score at half time was one all to make the second half of the game more competitive.

India came out of the break with much energy and their hard work was rewarded in the 37th minute as Harmanpreet Singh yet again scored a goal from the penalty corner making the score 2-1 in favour of India. Pakistan tried their best to get an equalizer but the Indian defence especially the captain PR Sreejesh in goal was a rock.

The last quarter was a tough period for both the teams as they were under pressure. Pakistan attacked the Indian defense to the best of their abilities and got many penalty corner opportunities in the last few minutes of the match. But the strong defending by the Indian team and the great saves by their goalkeeper Sreejesh helped the team to take the slender lead to the end of the match.

This victory not only helped India to retain their position at the top of the points table but also gave a message to their opponents before the knockout round. The win will surely help the team to build up their morale as they head to the semi-finals to face the fourth placed team from the group stage.

India’s head coach Craig Fulton was full of praise for his team saying that they showed great character to come from behind. “It was a very competitive game as we knew it would be against Pakistan, and I am quite pleased with how the boys reacted to going behind early on and to come back and win the match,” Fulton said in the post-match conference.

The player of the match, Captain Harmanpreet Singh who scored two goals said that the team needs to stay focused in the future matches. “We are happy with the win but the job is not yet done. We need to continue with the momentum we have achieved in the semifinals and if possible in the final,” he said.

This means that India has paved way for a possible face off with Pakistan in the final provided both teams win their semi-final games. The knockout stage will be very interesting as the best teams in Asian hockey will fight for the right to be called the best in the region.