DHAKA Defending champions Pakistan suffered a big blow when they lost 1-5 to India in their third hockey match at the 11th South Asian Games at the Maulana Bhasani Stadium here on Wednesday.
The match turned out to be a wakeup call for Pakistan Whites, who had easily beaten Nepal and Bangladesh in their first two games. Nothing went right for the boys in green as they struggled against their opponents' coordinated moves throughout the match.
The senior-most international in the Indian side Raghunath scored via penalty-corner strikes in the 14th, 19th and 57th minutes of the match.
Dharam Singh hit the opening two goals in the first and second minute of the match, which almost immediately put Pakistan under pressure. Fullback Wasif Siddiqui scored the consolation goal for the losers.
Around 3,000 Pakistan supporters watching the match were astonished when Dharam Singh gave his team the 2-0 lead before they could even settle in their seats.
Pakistan mustered as many as four penalty-corners but could only convert one. On the other hand, India also earned four but was successful in converting all of them.
Pakistan coach and former captain Ahmed Alam blamed goalkeeper Imran Butt for the team's defeat. Pakistan will now take on Sri Lanka in their next game on Friday while hosts Bangladesh will face India.
Pakistan must defeat Sri Lanka and India must beat Bangladesh in order to qualify for the finals in the five-team contest.—APP
