India beat Pakistan 3-1 at Asian Champions Trophy hockey

Muscat: India continued its dominance over arch-rivals Pakistan with a 3-1 win to register their second consecutive win at the Asian Champions Trophy hockey tournament here on Saturday.

India had defeated Pakistan 4-0 in the final edition of the Champions Trophy earlier in the year before registering a close 2-1 win over the arch-rivals in the Jakarta Asian Games.

But it was Pakistan who stunned the Indians by taking the lead as early as in the opening minute of the match through Muhammad Irfan Junior’s strike.

India, however, came back into the match in the second quarter when skipper Manpreet Singh (24th minute) drew parity for his side as both the teams went into the breather locked at 1-1.

India took the lead in the 33rd minute through a field strike from Mandeep Singh. The Indians extended their lead to 3-1 when striker Dilpreet Singh scored another field goal in the 42nd minute.

Thereafter, the Indians defended in numbers as Pakistani forwards failed to breach the rival backline. It was India’s second consecutive win in the tournament after having thrashed hosts Oman 11-0 in their opener.

Pakistan had defeated South Korea 3-1 in their opening match on Friday.

India will next face Japan tomorrow while Pakistan will play against Oman on Monday.