NEW DELHI: Indian and Pakistani hockey players on Saturday found themselves in the middle of a heated altercation that intensified the already fierce rivalry between the two teams during the Asian Champions Trophy encounter in Moqi, China.
The clash occurred as India led 2-1 with just over 10 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.
The game’s tension boiled over when Waheed Ashraf Rana's shoulder challenge on India’s Jugraj Singh left the young Indian rolling on the floor in pain.
Indian captain Harmanpreet Singh led the protest, confronting Rana, who was subsequently shown a yellow card.
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In the match, India secured a hard-fought 2-1 victory over their arch-rivals, maintaining their unbeaten streak in the tournament and heading into the semifinals with confidence.
Harmanpreet was instrumental in India's success, scoring both of their goals with precise drag-flicks on penalty corners. His efforts turned the tide of the match after Pakistan had initially taken the lead with an 8th-minute goal from Ahmad Nadeem, which was set up by a clever play from Hannan Shahid.
The match was a rollercoaster of emotions, with both sides displaying high intensity from the first whistle. Despite Pakistan’s early advantage, India quickly equalized with a penalty corner conversion by Harmanpreet and took the lead shortly after with another successful drag-flick.
Pakistan, although aggressive and persistent, failed to capitalize on several penalty corner opportunities and could not break through India's defence in the second half.
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