India thrash Pakistan 7-1 in Hockey World League Semi Final

In a completely one-sided contest, India defeated Pakistan in their third match of the Hockey World League 7-1. This is the biggest margin ever achieved by India in an India-Pakistan match. Before this, the highest margin was 7-4 which happened in the Champions Trophy 2003 and the Commonwealth Games 2010. India moving into the match with two wins already under their belt against Scotland and Canada had high hopes whereas Pakistan had faced losses in both of their earlier contests.

With this win, India now enjoy a comfortable top position in the group B of the competition. Talwinder Singh, Akashdeep Singh and Harmanpreet Singh scored twice for India as they cruised to the victory. Muhammad Umar Bhutta was the soles scorer for the Pakistan side.

Though Pakistan started off with more possession, it were the Indians who looked more attacking. India received their first penalty corner only a couple of minutes into the match. But this did not find the back of the net. The first goal came in the 13 minute from a penalty corner where skipper Harmanpreet Singh took the shot. Pakistan were pushed on the back foot even before half time. They looked defensive in their approach as the second quarter began. The second and third goal came in this quarter, both off the stick of Talwinder Singh, the first one in the 21 minute and the second followed 3 minutes later. Moving into the half time, Pakistan looked dejected.

Two minutes into the third quarter India registered another masterclass placement from the skipper into the Pakistan goal. The 4-0 score now looked unreachable for the Pakistanis. India scored again off their first attack in the fourth quarter making it 5-0. This time it was Akashdeep with his first one. Prannoy Mor followed it not long after with a solid strike widening the margin.

In the final minutes, Pakistan scored their only goal as a compensation of the humiliating defeat. But Akashdeep followed with another goal on the 58 minute to make the final score 7-1.

It was a historic win for the Indian hockey team as they set a record for the biggest win against Pakistan. This is the biggest win for the Indian team this year which has shaped up well for them. They will next face the Netherlands in their final league game on the 20 of June.