Men's Asian Hockey 5s World Cup Qualifier: Pakistan defeat India by 5-4
Pakistan Men's Hockey Team defeated India by 5-4 in the Men's Asian Hockey 5s World Cup Qualifier on Wednesday at Salalah, Oman.
Pakistan dominated right from the start, as Liaqat Arshad scored twice within the first three minutes of the match. Zikriya Hayat extended Pakistan's lead by scoring a field goal in the 5th minute of the match.
In the next ten minutes, India began to counter-attack and created multiple opportunities to score but could not get past Pakistan's goalkeeper, Ishiaq Abdullah Khan. Gurjot Singh finally breached Pakistan's defense in the 12th minute of the match and scored a field goal to make it 1-3. Pakistan pulled things back as Abdul Rehman scored in the 12th minute of the match.
Pakistan ended the first half with a massive lead of 4-1. In the early moments of the second half, both teams could not find the target but provided an attacking display.
Maninder Singh scored in the 17th minute of the match to make it 2-4. Mohammed Raheel's field goal in the 21st minute helped India close the gap but Abdul Rana scored his first goal of the match to make things difficult for India. Though Maninder Singh scored in the 29th minute, it was too late for India to pull things back as they ended up on the losing side by 4-5.
India drops to 3rd spot in Elite Pool Points table of Men's Asian Hockey 5s World Cup Qualifier
After suffering a 4-5 loss against Pakistan, India drops to the third spot in the Elite Pool Points Table of Men's Asian Hockey 5s World Cup Qualifier.
Pakistan tops the Elite Pool after winning all three matches. They have a goal difference of 35. Malaysia is also unbeaten in the Elite Pool Group and is in the second spot with a goal difference of 27.
India has two wins and a loss in their three matches and is in the third spot with a goal difference of 23. Oman has one win from their three appearances and has a goal difference of -6.
However, Oman's men's and women's team attained a direct qualification for the Hockey 5s World Cup as they are the hosts. Apart from Oman, the top three teams from the Asian Qualifiers will make it to the Hockey 5s World Cup.
India Men's Hockey Team will be in action on Thursday, August 31, where they will take on Malaysia in the afternoon match and Japan in the evening encounter in the Men's Asian Hockey 5s World Cup Qualifier.