Whereas hockey has reached a nadir in Pakistan, India have made big strides within the final 5 years, highlighted by the staff’s comeback to the Olympic podium with two successive bronze medals and health requirements that had been by no means seen earlier than.If the latest head-to-head report is checked out, Pakistan have not been capable of beat India of their final 16 encounters. India have gained 14 of these matches, whereas two ended as attracts. It has been eight years since Pakistan final defeated India, which was within the 2016 South Asian Video games closing in Guwahati.
However till the 2014 Asian Video games closing, the 2 groups had battled in a number of edge-of-the-seat thrillers, together with within the finals on the Olympics and World Cup.
This is a quick narration of a few of these memorable matches, as the 2 groups take one another on as soon as once more within the Asian Champions Trophy on Saturday:
1. Three Olympic finals
Melbourne 1956: It was India’s first assembly with Pakistan after partition in 1947, and the Balbir Singh Sr-led staff went on to retain their gold with a 1-Zero win. The match could not have produced classical hockey from two greatest groups on the planet at the moment, however it stored India’s unbeaten run within the Olympics since 1928 intact, as Randhir Singh Mild’s purpose within the third minute of a penalty bully (now referred to as penalty nook) led to India’s sixth consecutive gold medal.
Rome 1960: Pakistan ended India’s run of six consecutive gold medals with a 1-Zero victory by Naseer Ahmed Bunda’s purpose to avenge their defeat on the Video games 4 years in the past.
Tokyo 1964: For the third consecutive version of the Olympics, India and Pakistan reached the ultimate to showcase their continued dominance in world hockey. It was India’s flip to take revenge for his or her loss within the 1960 closing; however just like the earlier two gold-medal matches, this too produced only a solitary purpose that got here off the stick of Mohinder Lal within the 40th minute. It proved to be the successful purpose in India’s 1-Zero victory.
2. 1975 World Cup closing: India etched its identify within the annals of sports activities historical past by securing their first and solely World Cup title with a win over Pakistan within the closing. The momentous day got here simply two years after the heartbreak of the 1973 closing, when India suffered a devastating loss. The staff led by Ajit Pal Singh rose to the event within the closing held on the Merdeka Soccer Stadium in Kuala Lumpur. The match was a carefully contested affair, with Pakistan taking an early lead by Muhammad Zaid Sheikh. Surjit Singh scored the equalizer for India. The decisive purpose got here when Ashok Kumar, the son of the legendary Dhyan Chand, discovered the again of the online, securing an exciting 2-1 victory.
1975 WORLD CUP HOCKEY FINAL
3. Asian Video games 2014 closing: The Indian staff emerged victorious, securing the gold medal after a 16-year hiatus. In an exciting showdown, India displayed unwavering dedication as they triumphed over their archrivals with a rating of 4-2 in a nail-biting shoot-out. Earlier than that, India final grew to become Asian Video games champions in 1998. The carefully contested battle noticed the groups locked 1-1 on the finish of regulation time.
4. Champions Trophy 2007: Thought to be top-of-the-line India-Pakistan encounters within the sport, India staged a exceptional comeback to safe a 7-Four victory, scoring 5 targets within the closing 19 minutes of the sport, leading to a triumph that is still recent within the reminiscence of hockey followers. India’s goal-scorers had been Jugraj Singh, Deepak Thakur, Prabhjot Singh and Gagan Ajit Singh, whereas Pakistan’s targets got here from Rehan Butt, Nadeem Ahmed, Mudassar Ali, and Sohail Abbas. The sport marked the primary occasion the place India managed to attain seven targets in opposition to Pakistan.
5. Champions Trophy 2014 semifinal: India missed an opportunity to take the sport to a shootout, dropping 3-Four in a tense semifinal. Pakistan’s Muhammad Arslan Qadir scored the successful purpose only one minute earlier than the tip of the match, which led to maddening scenes in Bhubaneswar. The post-match celebrations by the Pakistani gamers sparked controversy as a few of them eliminated their shirts and made indecent and obscene gestures in the direction of the group and Indian media. This incident additional strained relations between the 2 nations. Pakistan’s different targets had been scored by Muhammad Waqas and Muhammad Irfan, whereas India’s targets got here from Gurjinder Singh, Dharamvir Singh, and Nikkin Thimmaiah.
