Kakamigahara, Sep 30 (IANS): Another chapter in one of international hockey’s most storied rivalries will unfold on Thursday when defending champions India face Pakistan in the first semifinal of the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games 2026, with a place in the gold-medal match on the line.
India enter the contest unbeaten and with momentum firmly behind them after topping Pool A with five wins from five. The second semifinal will see Malaysia take on South Korea.
The defending champions opened their campaign with a 13-1 demolition of Indonesia before following it up with a 16-1 victory over Sri Lanka. India then defeated South Korea 8-2, their biggest Asian Games win over the Koreans, before recording a 2-0 victory against hosts Japan in their most closely fought pool encounter.
They completed the group stage in emphatic fashion, shutting out Bangladesh 10-0.
India’s attack has been one of the defining features of their campaign. Dilpreet Singh has scored nine goals and is joint second on the tournament’s scoring chart, while Abhishek and captain Harmanpreet Singh have eight each.
Harmanpreet’s penalty-corner drag-flicks will once again be a key weapon, particularly against a Pakistan side boasting a prolific specialist of its own.
Pakistan had looked set to top Pool B and potentially avoid India until a narrow 4-5 defeat to Malaysia dropped them into second place and set up Thursday’s semifinal.
Before that setback, Pakistan had registered convincing victories over Thailand (9-0), Uzbekistan (5-1), China (3-0) and Oman (7-2).
Their leading scorer is drag-flick specialist Sufiyan Khan, who has found the net 11 times and currently tops the tournament scoring charts. His duel with Harmanpreet could prove significant, particularly when either team earns penalty corners.
India will, however, head into the semifinal without midfielder Raj Kumar Pal, who sustained a left thumb fracture during the final pool-stage match against Bangladesh.
Travelling reserve Nilakanta Sharma has been drafted into the squad as his replacement. The experienced midfielder has represented India at the Olympics and World Cup and gives coach Craig Fulton another established option in the middle of the park.
“It’s just unfortunate for Raj. At the same time, we have great experience that’s coming in. Nilakanta has been at the Olympics, World Cup. So, it’s a nice addition in terms of an experienced player coming in at an important time,” said the team’s chief coach, Craig Fulton.
The weather could also provide more favourable conditions for the semifinal, with sunny skies forecast in Kakamigahara after persistent rain disrupted the start of the week.
While the recent results give India reason for confidence, the significance of an India-Pakistan semifinal extends well beyond the tournament table.
India have not lost to Pakistan since the 2016 South Asian Games final, and Thursday’s encounter offers the defending champions another opportunity to maintain that unbeaten run in a major international competition.
Fulton, however, stressed the need to remain focused on the contest itself rather than the occasion surrounding it.
“In tournament hockey, all roads lead to this point. Semi-finals are games of consequence, so it’s exciting,” Fulton added. “We’ll fine-tune all that we have to for penalty-corner attack, penalty-corner defence and whatever else we are focusing on. But the main thing is it’s about us. It’s about putting our game plan in. We’ve had five good games and got good momentum going into this (semi-final).”
With a place in the final at stake, India’s attacking depth and penalty-corner execution will be tested against a Pakistan side that has demonstrated its own scoring threat throughout the tournament.
For India, victory would take them into the gold-medal match and leave them one win away from successfully defending their Asian Games title.
