Men’s Asian Hockey Champions Trophy: India beat Pakistan in a thriller to win bronze medal
The Indian Hockey Team bounced back to defeat arch-rivals Pakistan in a thrilling bronze medal match played at Maulana Bhasani Stadium, Dhaka on Wednesday.
It was an ideal start for the Indian team as Harmanpreet
Singh converted a penalty corner into a goal in the very first minute to give
Olympic bronze medallists 1-0 lead. The Indian team continued to put pressure
on the Pakistani defense with consistent attacks but could not convert into
chances. A defensive lap by Indian defense helped Arfaz make it 1-1 in the 11th
minute. Pakistan earned the first penalty corner of the match as Krishna Pathak provides a superb save. At the end of the first quarter scores level at 1-1.
The second quarter did not begin well for Men in Blue as
Hardik Singh was awarded a green card meaning India was down to 10 players for
2 minutes. Soon after, Abu Baker went down for 2 minutes. Indian team put
enough pressure on the Pakistan defense with penalty corners. Again, Pakistan
did not show any discipline as Mohammad Yaqoob was given a green card. At the
stroke of halftime, the umpire gave a penalty corner, but Pakistan decided to
review the decision, but it was retained as PC. India also lost a review for the back stick,
but the decision stood as it is. At the end of the first half, scores remained 1-1.
It was an aggressive start for the Pakistan team in the 3rd
quarter as they earned a penalty corner. The umpire gave Manpreet a yellow card
meaning India was down to 10 men for 5 minutes. In the 33rd minute,
Abdul Rana scored from a rebound shot saved by the Indian goalkeeper to give
Pakistan a 2-1 lead. Krishna Pathak made a superb save to deny Pakistan their 3rd
goal. The Indian team put enough pressure on Pakistan's defense with 2 penalty corners,
but Harmanpreet Singh could not convert. India survived a close chance as Abdul
Rana shot hit the post and went off. In the dying minutes, Sumit took the advantage
of the chaos in the Pakistan circle to tap the ball into the nets. At the end of the 3rd
quarter scores level at 2-2.
The fourth and final quarter began well for the Indian team
with aggressive intent. Manzoor got a green card meaning Pakistan was down to
10 men for 2 minutes. India earned one more penalty corner but did not convert.
Afraz was given a yellow card meaning Pakistan was down to 10 men for 5
minutes. Varun Kumar converted a penalty
corner into a goal in the 53rd minute giving India a 3-2 lead. Soon
after, Pakistan earned 2 back-to-back penalty corners. The second penalty
corner was well defended by Manpreet Singh.
Hardik Singh was given a yellow card meaning India was down
to 10 men for 5 minutes. Akashdeep Singh produced a superb reverse flick into a goal
in the 57th minute giving India a 4-2 lead. Right after that, Pakistan
made counterattack move as Nadeem scored a brilliant deflection goal to reduce
the gap at 3-4. India was down to 9 men with one more yellow card. Despite two
yellow cards for Indian players, they held their nerves winning the bronze
medal by a thrilling 4-3 scoreline.
India beat Pakistan by 4-3 to win the bronze medal at the Men's Asian Champions Trophy Hockey 2021
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