

London: Olympic bronze medallist India came up with a brilliant performance to fight back from a goal deficit to hand archrivals Pakistan a 7-1 thrashing in a lopsided clash in the FIH Pro League at the Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centres near London on Friday.
Two days after their narrow escape in the 4-3 win in their first clash with the Men in Green in the London leg of the FIH Pro League matches, India dominated the second and third quarters to score at regular intervals and handed Pakistan a big defeat in their penultimate match in the 2025-26 season of the tournament.
Sukhjeet Singh (19th min), Harmanpreet Singh (26th), Hardik (34th-PS), Jugraj Singh (35th), Abhishek (41st), Raj Kumar Pal (43rd), and Dilpreet Singh (53rd min) scored a goal apiece for India after Abu Mahmood had given Pakistan the lead in the 13th minute off their first penalty corner.
The win extended India’s decade-long dominance over the archrivals and marked 17 consecutive wins against Pakistan at all levels.
With this win, India moved ahead of Spain to 7th position in the standings. India have 17 points from 15 matches while Spain, who lost to Argentina in a shoot-out on Thursday, are on 16 points from as many matches. Pakistan have zero points, having lost all 15 matches so far. IANS
Also Read: Devika shocks Gunji as Srikanth, Rounak march into US Open badminton semifinals