LONDON – Pakistan and India will face off for the second time in Hockey World League in the classification match after India lost to Malaysia 3-2 in a quarterfinal encounter of the tournament’s semifinal on Thursday.
The South Asian rivals will be playing for the fifth/sixth positions in London on Saturday. India had defeated Pakistan 7-1 in their group match earlier this week, before facing an upset by Malaysia 3-2.
Argentina beat Pakistan 3-1 in the quarterfinal of the league’s semifinal round, which was also the qualifier for Hockey World Cup at London’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. Malaysia will now clash with Argentina in the semifinals.
The match is expected to be a high-octane encounter, and Pakistan will be looking to get their revenge.
On the other hand for the Indian team a loss would be disastrous after such a convincing win in the pool stage and it will raise question marks over Coach Oltmans and his team’s progress in the last one year.
Pakistan, on the other hand, have improved since their 7-1 defeat and have fought hard, including a 1-3 loss against Olympic champions Argentina. A win for either team will ensure a 5th-6th finish in the tournament.
