India registered a resounding 12-2 win over Oman but lost 4-5 to arch-rivals Pakistan in the Men’s Asian Hockey Hockey 5 World Cup Qualifier on Wednesday. Maninder Singh (17th, 29th), Gurjot Singh (12th) and Mohammad Raheel (21st) scored for India in the second match of the evening against Pakistan. Ehtesham Aslam (2nd, 3rd), Zikaria Hayat (5th), Abdul Rehman (13th) and Abdul Rana (26th) scored for Pakistan.
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Pakistan dominated early in the match and Aslam took advantage of a break in the Indian defense to score with a reverse hit. The Indian team counter-attacked but Pakistan goalkeeper Ali Raza made a brilliant save to create another chance for Aslam, who doubled Pakistan’s lead.
Maninder tried to control the ball after the match but Hayat took the ball in his own court and scored another goal for Pakistan. Gurjot then went on the offensive to bring India back into the match but Abdul scored for Pakistan and scored another goal. Pakistan lead 4-1 before half time.
The Indian team showed an aggressive attitude in the second half but Pakistan also continued to counter-attack. Meanwhile, Maninder scored the second goal for India with a reverse hit. After some time, Rahil scored a goal with the help of Pawan Rajbhar to bring the Indian team back into the match.
When it looked like the Indian team was going to equalize and thrash Pakistan, skipper Rana’s goal put Pakistan 5-3 ahead.
Maninder scored his second goal in the dying moments of the match but it only narrowed the margin of defeat for India. On the first day, India defeated the hosts Oman 12-2.
Raheel (2nd, 9th, 30th), Rajbhar (9th, 10th, 21st) and Maninder (16th, 23rd, 26th) scored a hat-trick each, while Jugraj Singh (3rd, 28th) bagged two goals. Sukhwinder (29th) also scored.
Maninder Singh and Mohammad Raheel scored four and three goals respectively as India thrashed Bangladesh 15-1 in their first match on Tuesday night. Maninder scored goals in the 10th, 18th, 28th and 30th minutes. While Raheel scored goals in the second, 15th and 24th minutes.
Sukhwinder scored in the 13th and 22nd minutes, Gurjot Singh in the 13th and 23rd minutes, Pawan Rajbhar in the 19th and 26th minutes. Mandeep More scored in the eighth minute and Dipsan Tirki in the ninth minute. Sawan Sarovar scored the only goal for Bangladesh in the second minute.