India smash Pakistan 4-0 to reach final of Asia Cup Hockey
India booked their spot in the Final of Asia Cup 2017 with a convincing 4-0 victory over arch-rivals Pakistan in the Super 4s match at the Maulana Bhashani National Hockey Stadium on Saturday, Asian Hockey Federation reported.
Goals from Satbir Singh (39′), Harmanpreet Singh (51′), Lalit Upadhyay (52′) and Gurjant Singh (57′) ensured the top spot in Super 4s for India.
This was the second match between the two sides in the Asia Cup 2017 as they have already faced each other in the Pool stage where India came out on top with a 3-1 victory.
Pakistan started the match on the attack as they won three penalty corners inside the first quarter but could not convert any as the Indian defence was up to the task.
The second quarter saw both the teams battle it out in the midfield as they looked to establish their authority in the match.
The third quarter finally saw India penetrate Pakistan’s circle as their team-work led to a great goal in the 39th minute when forward Satbir Singh made a darting run on the right flank and passed the ball towards the Pakistan goal which made its way inside the goal as the Pakistani defence failed to intercept it.
India started the fourth quarter aggressively as Varun Kumar missed a chance to score when Gurjant Singh found him in the circle with a calculated pass in the 46th minute. India won two successive penalty corners in the 48th and 49th minute, both of which were saved by
Pakistan’s Amjad Ali with some heroic saves to deny the Indians.