Three key takeaways from Pakistan's loss against India in Asian Champions Trophy

India defeated Pakistan 2-1 in the pool match of the Asian Hockey Champions Trophy on Saturday at the Moqi Training Base in Hulunbuir, China.

Both teams had already qualified for the semi-finals so this match was a dead rubber.

The bronze medalists at the Paris 2024 Olympics, India, started as favorites for the match but Pakistan displayed exceptional grit and determination to go toe-to-toe with their opponents.

In the high-voltage showdown Ahmad Nadeem put Pakistan ahead in the sixth minute with a brilliant field goal.

However, it was Harmanpreet Singh who struck in the 12th minute via penalty corner to level the score. In the 27th minute Harmanpreet scored again on penalty corner to give India a decisive lead.

This was the first loss from Pakistan in the event so far while India remained undefeated with five wins on the trot to finish with 15 points at the summit. Pakistan ended at the second spot with eight points which they earned from two wins and a couple of drawn shows against Malaysia and South Korea.

In the semi-finals which will be held on September 16, India will face Korea while Pakistan will meet China.

Here are some of the key takeaways from the exciting match between the traditional rivals.

India didn’t panic after conceding early goal

Pakistan created quite a few chances at the start of the first quarter and even went on to take the lead but despite that the Indian team didn’t lose their composure and cleverly worked the ball around on the park in order to get back in the game.

Pakistan were also too deep at times while defending when allowed India to retain possession and take control of the game.

The statistics at the end of the game also showed that India had 56 percent of the possession as compared to Pakistan’s 44. The winning side also had more circle entries, 19, which were more than Pakistan’s 13.

Ahmad Nadeem celebrates after scoring Pakistan's first and only goal in the match. Asian Hockey Federation

Cards prove costly for Pakistan

Pakistan received three cards, two yellow and a green, during the match which hindered their momentum.

The yellow card to forward Rana Waheed Ashraf for serious misconduct in Q4 severely dented Pakistan’s chances of scoring an equalizer. The player was suspended for 10 minutes when there were only 10:07 left on the clock.

Meanwhile, Pakistan failed to make good use of couple of penalty corners when Sufyan Khan, dragflicker, was serving suspension after a yellow he received in the third quarter.

Cards have been a consistent issue for Pakistan during the tournament as they received five each in the matches against Korea and Malaysia as well.

With the semi-finals looming, it’s high time that Pakistan become more disciplined and avoid clumsy fouls on the field.

Pakistan winless against India since 2016

Back in the day, Pakistan used to be a dominant side in world hockey but that is no longer the case due to chronic mismanagement by the Pakistan Hockey Federation and failure to adapt to the modern game.

Pakistan lead India 82-67 as far as the overall head-to-head is concerned but the latter have been the dominant side over the past few years. The Green Shirts are winless against India since the 2016 South Asian Games in Guwahati and Shillong. Meanwhile, India have won 15 matches and drawn two against Pakistan since their last loss.

The result in today’s match may not have gone Pakistan’s way but they might get another shot at India if both teams qualify for the final, which is set to take place on September 17.