Picture Credit: Twitter
After India and Pakistan were stunned by Japan and South Korea respectively in the semi-finals of 2021 Men's Hockey Asian Champions Trophy, the two neighbouring nations locked horns for the 3rd place match on Wednesday.
But as expected, it was a thrilling contest between two quality sides but in the end, it was India who emerged victorious by a narrow margin of 4-3 at the Maulana Bhashani National Hockey Stadium in Dhaka.
Two sides play a thrilling encounter in Dhaka
It was India who started the high-scoring affair on the front foot with Harmanpreet Singh scoring the first goal for his side, which was his 8th of the tournament. However, Pakistan bounced back in some style as Arfraz scored a brilliant goal to make it 1-1 going into the end of the first quarter.
After a goalless second quarter, the Men in Green shocked India as Abdul Rana scored a fine goal in the beginning of the second half to make it 2-1 for Pakistan. Just when the match was going away from India's grasps, Sumit scored an equalizer towards the end of the third quarter.
The game was set for a perfect grand finale and it was India who stepped up their game when it mattered the most. Varun Kumar scored the 3rd goal for his side before Akashdeep Singh made it 4-2.
With just over three minutes to go, Ahmed Nadeem pulled one goal back for Pakistan and the match was set for a crazy finish. But India held their nerves, in the end, to clinch a brilliant win to clinch 3rd place in the tournament.