ACT Hockey 2023: India show Pakistan the door, book semifinal date with Japan | Hockey News – Times of India

CHENNAI: Once the last beat of the Kollywood songs ended here at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Hockey Stadium on Wednesday, the game of the tournament started with a near disaster for India. Pakistan were celebrating a goal in just 95 seconds from the start. The stunned Chennai crowd, with hands on hips, watched the replay on the big screen after a video referral, and then erupted in joy as Hannan Shahid’s strike was disallowed.

India vs Pakistan:As it happened
The wake-up call saw the Indian defence regroup and get its structure back. For the next 12 minutes, it was free-flowing hockey, with both the sides defending well, until the dying seconds of the first quarter, when skipper Harmanpreet Singh sounded the board for the first of his two goals off penalty corners.

After Harmanpreet added a cushion in the 23rd minute, Jugraj Singh stepped up to flick on another short corner six minutes into the third quarter to make it 3-0.

The Pakistan team, which gave a good account of itself in the tournament compared to some of its previous outings, was now staring at an exit from the race to semis.
Akashdeep’s touch off a pass from Mandeep Singh put the icing on the cake for a 4-0 scoreline that stood as is until the final whistle.
The result put Pakistan out of the tournament, giving Japan another lease of life, as they leapfrogged the Pakistanis to finish in the top four and enter the semis.
Semi-final line-up:
1. South Korea vs Malaysia
2. India vs Japan