India vs Pakistan: The Famous Encounters of Legendary Hockey Rivalry | Hockey News

The India vs Pakistan Hockey games of the past decade may not have produced the same flair and intensity on the field, but it remains one of the best-selling face-offs in the sport.
While hockey has hit rock bottom in Pakistan, India has made great strides in the last five years, culminating in the team’s comeback to the Olympic stage with back-to-back bronze medals and fitness standards never seen before. If we look at recent head-to-head records, Pakistan have failed to beat India in their last 16 encounters. India have won 14 of those matches, while two have ended in draws. It has been eight years since Pakistan last defeated India, who were in the final of the 2016 South Asian Games in Guwahati.
But until the 2014 Asian Games final, the two teams had faced each other in several thrilling duels, including the Olympic Games final. and the World Cup.
Here is a brief account of some of those memorable matches, which saw the two teams face off again in the Asian Championship Trophy on saturday:

1. Three Olympic finals
Melbourne 1956: It was India’s first meeting with Pakistan after the partition in 1947, and the team led by Balbir Singh Sr. retained their gold with a 1-0 victory. The match may not have produced classic hockey from two of the best teams in the world at that time, but it kept India’s unbeaten run at the Olympics since 1928 intact, as Randhir Singh Gentle’s goal in the third minute from a penalty bully (now called a penalty corner) led to India’s sixth consecutive gold medal.
Rome 1960: Pakistan ended India’s run of six consecutive gold medals with a 1-0 victory courtesy of a goal from Naseer Ahmed Bunda, taking revenge for their defeat at the Games four years ago.
Tokyo 1964: For the third consecutive Olympic Games, India and Pakistan reached the final to show their continued dominance in world hockey. It was India’s turn to avenge their loss in the 1960 final; but like the previous two gold medal matches, this too produced only a single goal, which came from the stick of Mohinder Lal in the 40th minute. It proved to be the winning goal in India’s 1-0 victory.
2. 1975 World Cup Final: India etched its name in the annals of sporting history by securing its first and only World Cup title with a win over Pakistan in the final. The momentous day came just two years after the heart-wrenching final of 1973, when India suffered a devastating defeat. The team led by Ajit Pal Singh rose to the occasion in the final held at the Merdeka Football Stadium in Kuala Lumpur. The match was a thrilling affair with Pakistan taking an early lead through Muhammad Zaid Sheikh. Surjit Singh scored the equalizer for India. The decisive goal came when Ashok Kumar, son of the legendary Dhyan Chand, found the net to secure a thrilling 2-1 victory.

3. 2014 Asian Games Final: The Indian team emerged victorious and secured the gold medal after a gap of 16 years. In a thrilling encounter, India showed unwavering determination as they defeated their arch-rivals by a score of 4-2 in a nail-biting shoot-out. India had last won the Asian Games in 1998. The closely fought battle saw the teams tied 1-1 at the end of regulation time.
4. Champion Trophy 2007: Considered to be one of the best India-Pakistan encounters in the sport, India staged a remarkable comeback to secure a 7-4 victory, scoring five goals in the final 19 minutes of the match, resulting in a triumph that remains fresh in the memories of hockey fans. India’s goal scorers were Jugraj Singh, Deepak Thakur, Prabhjot Singh and Gagan Ajit Singh, while Pakistan’s goals came from Rehan Butt, Nadeem Ahmed, Mudassar Ali and Sohail Abbas. The match marked the first time that India managed to score seven goals against Pakistan.

5. Champion Trophy 2014 semi final: India missed a chance to take the match to a shootout and lost 3-4 in a thrilling semi-final. Pakistan’s Muhammad Arslan Qadir scored the winning goal just a minute before the end of the match, leading to frenzied scenes in Bhubaneswar. The post-match celebrations by the Pakistani players sparked controversy as some of them removed their shirts and made indecent and obscene gestures towards the crowd and the Indian media. The incident further strained relations between the two countries. Pakistan’s other goals were scored by Muhammad Waqas and Muhammad Irfan, while India’s goals came from Gurjinder Singh, Dharamvir Singh and Nikkin Thimmaiah.