Harmanpreet speaks of important lessons after edging out Pakistan: ‘Should not have made mistakes in second half’

The India-Pakistan Asian Games hockey semifinal match lived up to its billing on Thursday. The match was tied at 3-3 with seconds on the clock when Abhishek got the winner for India as they prevailed over their archrivals.

India played an ideal first quarter as they ran to a 3-0 lead with captain Harmanpreet Singh scoring a brace. Sukhjeet Singh’s goal, India's third, was just breathtaking, with Shilanand Lakra setting it up from the left. A great combo goal.

Anyway, at that time, the Indians were in the driver’s seat, but in the third and fourth quarters, the Pakistanis ran amok to make it 3-3 thanks to goals from Abu Mahmood (30th minute), Hannan Shahid (45th minute) and Waheed Rana (49th minute). If truth be told, the Indians grew a bit defensive after their early big lead, and Pakistan pounced on that. At the time when Abhishek rose to the occasion and got the winner, the Indians were looking down and out, with the game looking set for a shootout.

Also Read: Great escape: Abhishek’s last-minute goal rescues India in thriller vs Pakistan

Harmanpreet reviewed the game for his team and spoke at length about where they were good and where they were lacking. He particularly highlighted how they wasted Ammad Butt’s yellow card as they failed to score during his absence, with Pakistan being down to 10 men. "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 us able to score the goal in the final minute. It is a good lesson for us to learn and perform better in the final.

"Despite not getting PCs in the second half, we still had opportunities. We could have scored more goals, especially when they were down to 10 men. 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 the 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," he said.

The winners from the Republic of Korea-Malaysia match will play India in the final on Saturday. Hopefully, Harmanpreet’s men will improve and successfully defend their gold medal from Hangzhou 2023.