The Asia Cup hockey match between India and Pakistan ended in a draw

Image credit: Dawn

On Monday, the Indian men’s hockey team drew with arch-rival Pakistan in the Asia Cup’s inaugural match for both sides.

In the first quarter, India’s Selvam Karthi scored on a drag-flick, giving the team an early lead.

However, Pakistan’s Abdul Rana cancelled out the lead with a stunning goal with less than a minute remaining on the clock.

The Asia Cup has been won three times by both India and Pakistan.

India hopes to defend the title it earned in the previous edition of the tournament in 2017. On Tuesday, the team will take on Japan.

Hockey matches between India and Pakistan, like cricket, are high-voltage events for both countries, evoking nationalistic fervour on both sides of the border.

Both sides dominated the sport at one time, meeting in multiple Olympic and World Cup finals. In contrast, cricket, however, has surpassed hockey in popularity in both countries over the years.

India, on the other hand, has been increasingly resurgent in hockey; last year, the men’s team defeated Germany to win its first Olympic bronze medal in 41 years.

Currently, the squad is rated third in the world.

The two teams last played in December in Bangladesh for the 2021 Asian Champions Trophy third-place play-off, which India won 4-3.

This year’s Asia Cup is being hosted by Indonesia, with the final scheduled for June 1st. The top three teams will also be eligible for the 2019 World Cup of Hockey.

Although India has already qualified to host the 2023 World Cup, which will be hosted in the eastern state of Orissa (also known as Odisha), Pakistan will be hoping to qualify through this competition.

Both teams are banking on a group of bright young players, as well as some seasoned veterans.

“Because we need to start rebuilding the team, we have a lot of young players. They can only gain experience if they are allowed to play Last week”, Pakistan’s new coach, Siegfried Aikman, stated.

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