Asian Champions Trophy: India Beat Arch-rivals Pakistan 4-3, End Campaign With Bronze Medal (ld)

Asian Champions Trophy: India beat arch-rivals Pakistan 4-3, end campaign with bronze medal (Ld)

Dhaka (Bangladesh), Dec 22 : Indian men’s hockey team won the bronze medal at the Asian Champions Trophy after beating Pakistan 4-3 in the third-place play-off match here on Wednesday.It was goals by Harmanpreet Singh (2′), Sumit (45′), Varun Kumar (54′) and Akashdeep (57′) that helped India beat Pakistan in a match that lived up to the billing with some tense moments.

 Asian Champions Trophy: India Beat Arch-rivals Pakistan 4-3, End Campaign With B-TeluguStop.com

Earlier in the match, India was quick to get off the blocks in the first quarter, making inroads into the Pakistani circle with an intense attack.The tactic worked, as India successfully won a PC in the second minute of the game.

Though Pakistani first rusher Ajaz Ahmad made an effective run-in to stop India from scoring, Harmanpreet Singh found the back of the net in his fourth attempt.

However, India couldn’t retain this 1-0 lead for long as Pakistan was quick to retaliate when a defensive error allowed their attacker Afraz to make a quick attempt on goal.

He was successful in putting the ball past India’s goalkeeper, fetching his team the much-needed 1-1 equaliser.Pakistan found yet another opportunity to score in the 13th minute when they won their first PC of the match but an alert Krishan Pathak warded off the danger with a brilliant save.

Having started the second quarter in a 1-1 stalemate, the two Asian heavyweights traded opportunities to score but neither was successful.It was after the 10-minute half-time break that the teams returned with more fuel power in their attack.

First, it was Pakistan who scored in the 33rd minute to claim a 2-1 lead with a brilliant goal by their young midfielder Abdul Rana, who led the Pakistani Junior team at the recent FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s Junior World Cup in Bhubaneswar, Odisha.He picked up a rebound off a PC to send the ball swiftly past the Indian goalkeeper Pathak.

Though India created a few chances to score in the later part of this quarter, they could not convert.But the defending Champions did well to hold their nerves and scored some sensational goals in the final moments of the match that saw them snatch the lead back from their opponents.

It was midfielder Sumit who earned India an important goal in the 45th minute after he was tactfully assisted by forward Gursahibjit who beat three Pakistani defenders on the left flank to set up the goal.This helped India equalise the score to 2-2.In the 54th and 57th minute, India scored through Varun Kumar’s PC and Akashdeep Singh’s fine field goal that sealed the match in India’s favour.Though Pakistan made great attempts in the dying minutes, they could only muster one goal in the 57th minute through Moin Shakeel but India’s defence protected their 4-3 lead with all their might to ensure they returned home with a third-place finish in the Men’s Asian Champions Trophy.-


Asian Champions Trophy: India defeated arch-rivals Pakistan 3-3.Campaign ends with a bronze medal (Ld).

The second quarter began in a 1-1 tie.Both Asian heavyweights tried to strike, but they were unsuccessful.The teams were able to regain their energy after the 10 minute half-time break.In the 33rd minutes, Pakistan scored to take a 2-1 lead.

This was thanks to a fantastic goal scored by Abdul Rana (the young Pakistani midfielder who played for the Pakistani junior team at the recent FIH Odisha hockey Men’s Junior World cup in Bhubaneswar in Odisha).To send the ball quickly past Pathak, he grabbed a rebound from a computer.
India had a couple of chances in this final quarter to score, but they couldn’t convert.The defending champions did a good job of holding their nerves.They scored some spectacular goals in the last moments to take the lead from their rivals.India’s important goal came in 45 minutes when Sumit, a midfielder, was assisted tactfully by Gursahibjit on the forward line.He beat three Pakistani defenders to score the goal.India’s score was tied at 2-2 after this goal.

India won the match with a pair of goals in the 54th-57th minutes.Although Pakistan tried their best in the final minutes but could not manage a goal through Moin Shakeel in the 57th, India held firm to their lead and returned home in third place in the Men’s Asian Champions Trophy.

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