Tempers flare in India vs Pakistan hockey match as players at loggerheads after nasty PAK tackle, umpire intervenes

India completed an unbeaten run in the league stage of the Asian Champions Trophy at the Moqi Training Base in Hulunbuir, China, as captain Harmanpreet Singh, who reached the milestone of 200 goals in the previous match, scored two more goals on Saturday to beat Pakistan 2-1. India remained at the top of the points table in the group stage, while Pakistan incurred their first loss in the tournament, after securing two wins and two draws so far. Both teams, however, qualified for the semifinal.

However, the thrilling encounter between the two arch-rivals also witnessed a heated exchange between the players of the two teams after a nasty tackle from Pakistan's Ashraf Waheed Rana against Jugraj Singh.

It happened with 10 minutes left on the clock, with Pakistan desperately pushing for an equaliser when Jugraj was felled following a collision with Rana inside the Indian circle. Harmanpreet and Jarmanpreet Singh quickly rushed to verbally give it back to Rana, before the on-field umpires, Pakistan captain Ammad Butt and other players of both teams intervened to control the situation.

The on-field umpire then called for a review, and the TV umpire concluded that it was an offence by Rana and hence the Pakistan player was given a yellow card, implying that the side was down to 10 men for the final 10 minutes of the match.

India looked to capitalise on the situation with one more goal after Sukhjeet extracted a foul inside the Pakistan circle to win a penalty corner in the final minute of the match, but Harmanpreet failed to find the back of the net, with his effort getting blocked.

Despite the loss for Pakistan, they joined India to qualify for the semifinals of the tournament. Meanwhile, the victory enabled India to maintain their supremacy over Pakistan since 2016. In their previous meeting at the Hangzhou Asian Games last year, India thrashed Pakistan 10-2. A few months before that, the Indians beat Pakistan 4-0 during the Chennai edition of the ACT.

At the Asia Cup in Jakarta (2022), a relatively young Indian side held Pakistan to a 1-1 draw while at the 2021 ACT in Dhaka, India defeated Pakistan 4-3 to clinch the bronze medal.