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Since they are the only team without a loss after four games, the Indian team is in the lead of the points standings in this competition. The lone loss they suffered in this tournament was a 1-1 draw in their group stage encounter against Japan, however they did beat China 7-2 in their tournament debut and demolished Malaysia 5-0. A late goal made the Indian team's group stage encounter against South Korea appear heated, but they came back and won 3-2.
Their aspirations of making it to the semifinals have been maintained after losing their opening match to Malaysia and drawing with South Korea and Japan in their group stage matches. However, they overcame China.
What should I watch out for in the India vs. Pakistan matchup?
If Pakistan wins, they will go to the last four rounds; if they lose, it will depend on how China and Japan fare in their encounter. In the event that Pakistan loses, they will hope that China defeats Japan, and if Japan triumphs, the difference shouldn't be too large. In addition, Pakistan would also like to see Malaysia defeat South Korea, preferably by a wide margin, since that would be very beneficial for them.
The Harmanpreet Singh-led team leads the table with 10 points after winning three games and having one match result in a draw. Malaysia is in second place with 9 points, South Korea is in third with 5, Pakistan is in fourth with 5, Japan is in fifth with 2, and China is at the bottom of the standings with 1.
Hockey head-to-head records between India and Pakistan
With five goals, Indian skipper Harmanpreet Singh has joined the select group of players with more than 150 goals scored and helped his team secure a top-two berth in the standings. The fourth Indian on that list, he is also. It would be a closely contested match. We need to be wise and concentrate on our actual game plan and obligations. The captain stated in the pre-game press conference, "We will keep to our original structure and strive to finish better.
Given that they are the hosts and are a very reliable team, the Indian team is thought to be the favourite to win this competition. The fact that India has won 12 games in this time and Pakistan hasn't defeated them since 2016—two of those games have also ended in ties—will be crucial. The two sides have an 82-64 head-to-head record, with 32 of those games ending in draws, however recent results have benefited India.
The Indian team has a 6-2 record in this tournament and two matches that they have played have resulted in ties. They took home the bronze medal for the 2021 competition. India has also participated in four finals of this competition, winning two, losing one, and having one game postponed due to severe weather.
