The Indian Men's hockey team will lock horns with arch-rivals Pakistan in the ongoing Asian Champions Trophy hockey tournament at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium in Chennai, Tamil Nadu on Wednesday, August 9.
Led by skipper Harmanpreet Singh, India have already made it to the semi-finals of the event and hence the game on Wednesday is just a dress rehearsal for them ahead of the knock-out semifinal clash. India began their campaign in style after they routed the People's Republic of China by a margin of 7-2. The three-time Asian champions met Japan next and were forced to play out a draw as the Japanese defence didn't allow a lot of opportunities for the hosts to score.
However, a draw couldn't dampen their spirits as they hammered Malaysia 5-0 before edging out South Korea 3-2 to secure a semifinal berth. India are on the top of the points table with the help of ten points to their credit.
For Pakistan, the journey has been full of challenges. The Muhammad Umar Bhutta-led side got off to a terrible start as it lost to Malaysia 3-1. However, Pakistan, three-time champions themselves displayed grit and secured two draws against Japan and Korea before securing their first win of the tournament against the People's Republic of China 2-1.
The two Asian giants previously collided in the Asia Cup 2022 in Jakarta. The game saw some pulsating contest between the two sides and ended in a draw 1-1. Though Pakistan lead India by a margin of 82-64 in head-to-head contests, India have not lost a single game against their Asian neighbours in the last 14 fixtures. The two teams have played a total of 178 games out of which 32 have ended in stalemate.
The contest may very well turn out to be a mouthwatering clash as the war of words off the field has already begun. Pakistan's head coach Muhammad Saqlain has targeted India by saying that they are not playing structural hockey at the moment and are relying on their fitness and agility to win games.
"India is not playing structural hockey, but Pakistan is. India is simply playing over fitness. Structural hockey is played by Korea and Japan. India has been playing behind the ball mostly and relying mainly on counter-attacking," said Saqlain during the pre-match conference as reported by PTI.
