NEW DELHI: Abhishek’s dramatic field goal with just 49 seconds left on the clock salvaged a heart-stopping 4-3 victory for India over rivals Pakistan in the Asian Games semi-final on Friday in Kakamigahara.
“We started very well but in the second half we made many mistakes, especially in our defence. They used those opportunities to score some quick goals. But we knew our structure and maintained it which also made able to score the goal in the final minute. “Despite not getting PCs in the second half we still had opportunities. We conceded many silly goals. In the second half we should not have made mistakes like we did. Hope to work on these and perform better in the final. “I think without ball we made more mistakes and also during the one on one tackles. We remained calm which helped us score a goal in the last minute. We maintained possession which helped us create the opportunity to score the final goal,” Harmanpreet added. The match was a tale of two halves, perfectly encapsulating both India’s blistering attacking pedigree and their lingering defensive fragility. With Hardik Singh serving as the fulcrum in the midfield – dictating the game’s rhythm with old-school flair – India relentlessly pressed forward. In the 13th minute, a brilliant decoy routine involving Jugraj Singh shifted the angle of the penalty corner (PC) battery, allowing Harmanpreet to effortlessly slot home his and India’s second goal. Statistically, India deserved the result. Yet, allowing a vastly outplayed, less-fit Pakistani side back into the match through unforced errors, disciplinary cards, and quarter-end complacency reveals a fragile big-game temperament.
We could have scored more goals especially when they were down to 10-men. They dominated possession (54%), nearly doubled Pakistan’s circle penetrations (22 to 12), and converted two of their seven PCs.
It is a good lesson for us to learn and perform better in the final,” India skipper Harmanpreet Singh said after the match.
The late strike propelled India into the gold medal match against either Malaysia or South Korea, extending their decade-long unbeaten streak against Pakistan to 22 matches. Yet, beneath the euphoria of reaching the final lies a stark warning for chief coach Craig Fulton – a near-disastrous defensive collapse that saw India squander a commanding 3-0 lead.
