Asian Champions Trophy, India beat Pakistan 2-1: Both goals were scored by captain Harmanpreet Singh; team’s fifth consecutive win
Defending champion India defeated Pakistan 2-1 in the Asian Hockey Champions Trophy on Saturday. The match was played at the Moqi Hockey Training Base in Hulunbuir, China. This is India’s fifth consecutive win in this tournament. Captain Harmanpreet Singh scored both the goals for India. Ahmed Nadeem scored the goal for Pakistan.
India is at the top of the points table after winning 5 matches. While Pakistan is at the second position after winning 2 out of 5 matches. Both the teams have already qualified for the semi-finals.
Harmanpreet Singh scored a goal on a penalty corner. During the first quarter of the match, a tough competition was seen between the two teams. The first goal of the match was scored by Pakistan’s Ahmed Nadeem in the 7th minute of the first quarter. Here Shaheen played a shot and put the ball inside the D, which Nadeem deflected and scored a goal. With this, Pakistan took a 1-0 lead in this match.
After this, in the 13th minute, India equalized by converting a penalty corner into a goal. Harmanpreet Singh scored a goal by drag flicking on the right corner of the goal post.
At the beginning of the second quarter (19th minute) captain Harmanpreet gave India the lead. On Abhishek’s injection, Harmanpreet took a shot in the center of the goal post. This goal proved to be decisive.
India’s 8th win over Pakistan This is India’s 8th win over Pakistan in the Asian Champions Trophy. This was the 12th match between the two teams. During this period, Pakistan has won only 2 matches. Whereas 2 matches were draws.
The semi-finals will be played on the 16th. Along with India, China, Korea, Japan, Malaysia, and Pakistan are participating in this tournament. The semi-finals of the tournament will be played on the 16th and the final on the 17th of September.
India is the most successful team. The Asian Champions Trophy started 13 years ago in 2011. The Indian hockey team is the defending champion of the Asian Champions Trophy. India has won the title four times and Pakistan three times. In 2021, South Korea won the title.