Indian hockey team continues their good run with a dominating 4-0 win over rivals Pakistan in the last group-stage game of the Asian Champions Trophy 2023 at Chennai's Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium on Wednesday, August 9. Star forward Harmanpreet Singh scored twice from the penalty corners to kick out Pakistan from the tournament and guided India to the top of the table.
Indian captain broke the deadlock in the 15th minute to finish the first quarter with a 1-0 lead. He added another one in the second quarter to add early pressure on Pakistan. Jugraj Singh scored the third goal for India to further put India in the driving seat and then Akshdeep Singh added the last goal to finish Pakistan's journey in the tournament.
Pakistan needed to get a draw or defeat with a one-goal difference to secure a top-four finish but the visiting side never seemed in position to threaten India's defence throughout the game.
With just one win from five games, the Pakistan team finished the tournament in the fifth position and failed to qualify for the semi-final round for the second time only in the tournament's history. On the other hand, the Indian team replaced Malaysia at the top of the group-stage table with four wins and one draw.
India will next face fourth-placed Japan in the second semi-final match on August 11 while Malaysia will take on champions South Korea in the first semi-final. India captain Harmanpreet Singh bagged the Player of the Match award for his two brilliant goals.
India Playing XI: Krishan Bahadur Pathak, Varun Kumar, Jarmanpreet Singh, Manpreet Singh, Hardik Singh, Mandeep Singh, Harmanpreet Singh, Sumit, Shamsher Singh, Akashdeep Singh, Sukhjeet Singh
Pakistan Playing XI: Akmal Hussain, Ahtisham Aslam, Aqeel Ahmad, Arshad Liaqat, Abdul Rana, Abdul Hannan, Zikriya Hayat, Usama Bashir, Umar Bhutta, Muhammad Sufyan Khan, Afraz
