Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], August 7 (ANI): Following his facet’s win over China within the ongoing Asian Champions Trophy hockey event, Pakistan skipper Umar Bhutta admitted that Team India, their subsequent opponent within the event, is healthier than their facet.
He stated Pakistan facet has numerous junior gamers.
Malaysia made a robust comeback after a loss to India and secured a 3-1 win over Japan, whereas Pakistan additionally bagged their first win of the continuing Asian Champions Trophy after beating China 2-1 at Chennai on Monday.
Pakistan will tackle India on August 9. The final time Pakistan beat India in hockey was in 2016 at SAF Games in Guwahati after that India and Pakistan performed 14 matches collectively, the place India received 12 whereas two led to a draw.
“India is a better side than us, honestly. If you look into our side, we have a lot of junior players, from the junior team. We will take it as a normal match and let us see what happens,” stated Umar to ANI.
Umar was completely happy along with his facet’s win. He stated that earlier through the event, Pakistan used to fumble after getting good begins however they improved on this match.
“In the last two games, we used to get good starts. We used to be in the lead but ended up conceding and the match used to end up in a draw. This time the team worked on it and improved to earn three points. So, it feels good,” stated Umar.
The skipper admitted that they’re getting nice assist in India.
Pakistan workforce’s head coach Mohammed Saqlain additionally admitted that the upcoming match towards arch-rivals India wouldn’t be straightforward for his workforce, given the shape Men in Blue are in.
“There is no doubt that India is a great team. They are Olympics Bronze medallists (in Tokyo 2020). The way they played against Malaysia, they showed that they are the best in the world. They won against the Netherlands in the recently played four-nation tournament which is also a big win. No doubt they are number one in Asia. They are a top team in the world. Definitely, it would not be easy to win against them. Their world ranking is two or three (fourth) and ours is 17-18 (17) but we hope to give them a tough time,” stated Saqlain to ANI.
Saqlain was, nevertheless, completely happy along with his facet’s win, saying that his facet missed numerous probabilities and they’re going to proceed engaged on it.
“It is a great win for us. We are missing a lot of chances which we missed today in our start. We will have to work on it. This win will give confidence to our boys as we are a very young team. They are experiencing a win for the first time. So, we are happy to win the first game,” he stated.
He stated that the workforce may be very younger and can get loads of publicity through the Asian Games, which will likely be held in China from September 23 to October 8.
“We would like to do well in Asian Games too,” he added.
Coming to the match, within the first quarter, Pakistan created loads of probabilities to attain however missed all. The first quarter ended goalless regardless of efforts from Abdul Rana, Muhammad Khan and Rehman.
In the second quarter, Pakistan took the lead within the twentieth minute with an outstanding strike from Muhammad Khan, who unleashed a lethal drag flick to the delight of his workforce’s followers.
Pakistan ended half-time with a 1-0 lead over China.
In the third quarter, China efficiently transformed a penalty nook and Jisheng Gao hit the equaliser with a ferocious drag-flick.
Just six minutes later nevertheless, Pakistan took again the lead, with Afraz inserting the ball comfortably into the online after Umar Bhutta and Rana made some nice strikes contained in the circle.
Pakistan reached the ultimate quarter with a 2-1 lead.
Pakistan ended the ultimate quarter with the identical scoreline, climbing to the fourth spot with one win, two attracts and a loss in 4 matches and a complete of 5 factors. China is on the backside with one draw and three losses. They have earned only one level.
In the ultimate match of the day, India is taking up defending champions South Korea. (ANI)