INCHEON: Pakistan defeated Malaysia in the Men’s Hockey semi-final on Tuesday, enabling the defending champions to face arch-rival India in the final on Thursday October 2.
Pakistan won 6-5 as the match entered the penalty shoot-out stage and is now set to face India — who beat South Korea in the other semi-final — in the final.
India has earned the spot in the finals of the Asian Games after 12 years, when it was defeated by South Korea 4-3 in 2002.
Pakistan defeated India 2-1 earlier on in the group stages, which lifted the Greenshirts to the top of the pool, sealing a place for the defending champions in the semi-finals.
The two teams have clashed in the finals of the Asian Games on eight previous occasions of which Pakistan has won 7.
Having won the World Cups four times in 1971, 78, 82 and 1994, and silver in 1975 and 1990, Pakistan for the first time in the game’s history failed to qualify for the World Cup in 2014.
Victory against arch-rival India in the Asian Games final would help in the revival of the game of hockey in Pakistan, which has been strapped for funds in recent years. It will also be a consolation for hockey fans in the country who were left disheartened after Pakistan failed to qualify for the World Cup earlier this year.
Re: INDIA-PAK HOCKEY FINAL@ASIAD!!!!...2nd October
since Pakistan has already defeated India, they've a psychological upper hand. i hope the Indians will overcome psychological deficit and come out as victorious but i've my doubts they can do it...let's see.
Go India, GO and WIN the trophy or at least a toffee! :D
Re: INDIA-PAK HOCKEY FINAL@ASIAD!!!!...2nd October
End of 2nd quarter: **India finally managed to get the goal that they were looking for as Khotajit Khadangbam scored the much anticipated goal that the Indian supporters were looking for. Indians have pretty much dominated the last two period of play in this quarter and have been on the attack constantly. They created another close chance towards the end of the second quarter, but this time the Pakistan defense was upto the mark.India had a good second quarter. They clearly dominated the 15 minutes and even scored an equaliser. Despite a good defence by Pakistani defenders and a few brilliant saves by the goalkeeper, Kothajit managed to score India’s first goals by sticking his stick out near Pakistan’s goal post. The Indians kept the tempo of the game up with some attacking play. Pakistan was more cautious in the second quarter. An exciting first half by india and Pakistan. **2nd Quarter 12th minute:India 1, **Pakistan 1India scored its first goal to equal. Kothajit just stuck his stick out and deflected the ball inside the net. India recieved a very vital penalty corner in the mid of this session of play. Pakistan also got a green card in the process. Muhammad Irfan was the player who was shown the green card. The penalty corner though was once again stopped by the goal keeper of Pakistan and they still managed to keep their lead by the end of this period of play. **2nd Quarter 8th minute:Pakistan 1, India 0 **India gets its first penalty corner. Pakistan defender deflects the ball on his legs, for which he is red carded. Sardar Singh takes the penalty corner. The drag flicker Raghunath misses a golden chance as the Pakistan goalkeeper makes an excellent save. **2nd Quarter 5th minute:Pakistan 1, India 0 **Pakistan has been very good with their stratergy so far in this quarter, they are keeping hold of the possesion and making India try hard for the possesion of the ball. India have done better when it comes to building a play so far in this quarter.Pakistan attack India’s circle, but good defending by India. Pakistan are adopting a more cautious approach as compared to India’s attacking play. India is certainly looking to up the pace of the match as Pakistan is passing the ball around in the field. India hasn’t won a single penalty corner in this quarter so far **End of 1st Quarter:Pakistan 1, India 0: Excellent first half for the Pakistan team here. They have clearly been the superior team in terms of technique in offence as well as defense. India has tried their best in this period of play to level the scoring, but Pakistan’s defense has not allowed India any chances whatsoever. India has tried taking resort to long passes but that hasn’t quite worked in their favor. India did get couple of very good chances to score at the end of the quarter, but the Pakistani Keeper was excellent at his job of protecting the goal. 1st quarter, 10′:Pakistan 1, India 0: The second period of play in this quarter has been rather uneventful and the Pakistani team has , managed to hold on to their lead so far in the game. The Indians have had their chance to bring down the lead, but the Pakistani defense has been up to the task every time. Pakistan still lead 1-0 after 10 mins of play. *1st quarter, 3′: Pakistan 1, India 0: * India comes into this game with a 2-1 loss on their back in the league phase against the same opponent. The start has been rather affirmative for the Pakistani team as Rizwan Mohammad scored in the 3rd minute itself as a very powerful stroke by the Pakistani forward was failed to be stopped by the Indian goalkeeper. India on the trail very early in this game.Rizwan Muhammad strikes for Pakistan, Pakistan 1-0. It’s India vs Pakistan in the finals of the Hockey event in Asian Games. There couldn’t have been a better way to end the Hockey event than having the two arch rivals face each other for the top price. India has a very good chance of winning their 8th gold medal but for that too they will have to face tough competition against the Pakistan team, who are in some very good form themselves. The Day 13 of Asian Games 2014 is abuzz with exciting clash between India and Pakistan meeting in the men’s hockey final at Seonhak Stadium in Incheon, South Korea. In the sporting world, the clash between India and Pakistan are always looked upon as one of the most anticipated matches to. And India vs Pakistan hockey final is seen as the crackling clash of titans on the blockbuster Thursday. The two sides, India and Pakistan have previously met in the group stage match in Pool B that saw the defending champs Pakistan emerging victorious with score line of 2-1 in closely contested encounter. But India made a great comeback by beating the formidable side South Korea in the semi-final to make historic Asiad finals after a gap of 12 years. On the other hand, Pakistan had to work hard to defeat Malaysia with a 6-5 win in the penalty shoot-out after the match ended goalless in regulation time Tuesday. In this mother of all battles, a lot is at stake, from pride to direct qualifications for the 2016 Rio Olympics. But the two-time champions India know about the road to final victory is not going to be very easy. They have been defeated once recently and also are wary of their poor 1-7 record in the Asian Games final against holders and record eight-time winners Pakistan. For India, it will take a lot more than great performance on field to outlast their nemesis for this match will be a test of character and mental toughness of Sardar Singh’s side at Seonhak Stadium in Incheon, South Korea.
