London: Olympic bronze medallist India came up with a brilliant performance to fight back from a goal deficit to hand archrivals Pakistan a 7-1 thrashing in a lopsided clash in the FIH Pro League at the Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centres near London on Friday.
Two days after their narrow escape in the 4-3 win in their first clash with the Men in Green in the London leg of the FIH Pro League matches, India dominated the second and third quarters to score at regular intervals and handed Pakistan a big defeat in their penultimate match in the 2025-26 season of the tournament.
Sukhjeet Singh (19th min), Harmanpreet Singh (26th), Hardik (34th-PS), Jugraj Singh (35th), Abhishek (41st), Raj Kumar Pal (43rd), and Dilpreet Singh (53rd min) scored a goal apiece for India after Abu Mahmood had given Pakistan the lead in the 13th minute off their first penalty corner.
The win extended India’s decade-long dominance over the archrivals and marked 17 consecutive wins against Pakistan at all levels.
With this win, India moved ahead of Spain to 7th position in the standings. India have 17 points from 15 matches while Spain, who lost to Argentina in a shoot-out on Thursday, are on 16 points from as many matches. Pakistan have zero points, having lost all 15 matches so far.
The Indians dominated the field, making 36 circle penetrations and earning 13 penalty corners, of which they scored only 3. In contrast, Pakistan made 18 circle penetrations but could not score any field goals. They earned six penalty corners but managed to convert only one.
Hardik Singh and Manpreet Singh superbly marshalled the Indian midfield, while forwards Abhishek, Dilpreet Singh, and Mandeep Singh dominated the Pakistan defence. Hardik was adjudged the FIH Player of the Match for his superb performance.
Pakistan went ahead in the 13th minute when Abuy Mahmood converted a penalty corner to give them the lead. They Indian created some good attacks and earned three penalty corners in the first quarter, but could not score a goal. Sukhjeet Singh scored the equaliser in the 19th minute, and India went ahead in the 25th minute when skipper Harmnapreet Singh converted a PC to make it 2-1.
India took complete control of the game in the second quarter by using precise long passes to stretch the Pakistan defence. Pakistan suffered a setback in the 18th minute when a deflected pass from Ali Ghazanfar accidentally struck teammate Ahmad Nadeem on the face, forcing him off the field.
India capitalised on the momentum a minute later by earning a penalty corner. Skipper Harmanpreet fired a powerful dragflick, which was expertly deflected into the net by Sukhjeet (20’) to make it 1-1. In the 26th minute, India won another penalty corner, and this time Harmanpreet smashed it directly into the top left corner to give India a 2-1 lead heading into halftime.
The ‘Men in Blue’ increased their dominance in the second half. In the 34th minute, India earned consecutive penalty corners, the second of which resulted in a penalty stroke. Hardik stepped up and calmly converted it to make it 3-1. Pakistan responded quickly to win two penalty corners, but the Indian defence blocked the attempts cleanly. After blocking the second penalty corner, India launched a rapid counter-attack as the ball found Dilpreet, who combined brilliantly with Sukhjeet before setting up Jugraj (35’) to smash it home for a 4-1 lead.
India’s frontline remained relentless as Sukhjeet created another opening in the 41st minute, passing to Abhishek, who scored on the run to make it 5-1. Late in the third quarter, India earned four consecutive penalty corners. On the fourth one, Raj Kumar Pal (44’) reacted quickest to guide the rebound of Harmanpreet’s dragflick into the open goal, extending the lead to 6-1.
India maintained their defensive discipline in the final quarter while looking for further openings. In the 54th minute, Dilpreet capped off a brilliant move by scoring India’s seventh goal of the match. Pakistan earned back-to-back penalty corners in the dying minutes of the game, but veteran midfielder Manpreet Singh stood firm to block both attempts, sealing a comprehensive 7-1 victory for India.
(IANS)
