New Delhi: India toyed with Pakistan in their men’s hockey clash at the Hangzhou Asian Games on Saturday evening to post their biggest win over the arch-rivals. The margin of victory for the rampant Indians was a staggering 10-2.
Yes, you heard that right!
Harmanpreet Singh scored 4 goals, Varun Kumar 2, while Mandeep Singh, Lalit Upadhyay, Shamsher Singh and Sumit netted one apiece.
India thus sealed a semifinal berth from Pool A with a game to spare, having scored an incredible 48 goals in 4 games and conceded just 3.
Never before has 10 goals been scored by one team in the storied Indo-Pakistani hockey rivalry which has seen 180 contests so far.
India’s previous best victory margin against Pakistan was 7-1 six years ago in the FIH Pro League. The men in blue also posted 7-4 wins against Pakistan twice — in the 2010 New Delhi Commonwealth Games and 2003 Champions Trophy.
Pakistan, on the other hand, thumped India 7-1 twice — in the 1980 Champions Trophy and 1982 Asian Games.
