India survived a fierce second-half comeback from Pakistan to secure a 4-3 victory and advance to the Asian Games hockey final in Gifu.
India narrowly escaped with a 4-3 victory over arch-rivals Pakistan to enter the final of the Asian Games 2026 hockey tournament in Gifu. After taking a 3-0 lead, the Indian team allowed Pakistan to level the score at 3-3 before snatching the winning goal in a dramatic clash.
The contrasting scenes after the final whistle reflected the intensity of the encounter. While Pakistani players broke down in tears, the Indian squad celebrated with a sense of muted relief after letting a comfortable lead slip.
Reflecting on the match, Manpreet Singh noted that errors in the second half let Pakistan back into the game. 'Both. First half was very good, in the second we made mistakes and they punished us. Pakistan is a good team and they will hit back if you make mistakes. The good thing is that we didn’t give up and stuck to our game plan till the end,' Manpreet stated.
Harmanpreet Singh summed up the outcome as 'memorable, relieved' while acknowledging the need to improve. 'There were a few mistakes and we will learn from them and come back stronger in the final,' Harmanpreet added.
Head coach Craig Fulton expressed candid frustration over losing control despite the victory. 'End of third quarter and start of 4th we lost a bit of our shape and it went down to the wire. We needed to get to the fourth and fifth goals after the first three, we missed a lot of chances,' Fulton said, adding that he was 'relieved but can’t be happy with being 3-0 up, going to 3-3 and then win 4-3.'
Reporting sourced from The Hindu Hockey. Photo courtesy The Hindu Hockey.