Pakistan lost 3-1 to arch-rivals India in their last pool match at the Asia Cup hockey tournament at Dhaka’s Maulana Bhashani National Hockey Stadium on Sunday.
The blockbuster match brought the best hockey out of the two teams leaving the local crowd wanting for more, Asian Hockey Federation reported.
India and Pakistan will face each other again in Asia Cup 2017 as they have both qualified for the Super 4s stage of the tournament which gets underway on October 18.
It was goals by Chinglensana Singh (17′), Ramandeep Singh (44′) and Harmanpreet Singh (45′) that ensured India a top spot in Pool A.
The first quarter started evenly as both sides looked threatening on the attack looking to clinch the opener.
On the other hand, Pakistan defended well and looked to hurt India on the counter which saw them earn a penalty corner in the last minute of the first quarter.
The second quarter started well for the Indians as they produced some slick passing to take the lead in the 17th minute.
A good performance in the third quarter was essential for both the teams to get a grip on the match. India had the chance to tighten the noose on the match as two Pakistan players were awarded yellow cards, but the Pakistan’s defence held their nerves.
The Indians extended their lead to three goals as they scored two goals in two minutes towards the end of the third quarter.
Pakistan have been the Asia Cup champions thrice — winning the first three editions in 1982, 1985 and 1989. While India have lifted the cup twice, in 2003 and 2007.
