Asian Champions Trophy hockey: India eye triumph over Pakistan in next round-robin match

India will face Pakistan in their next round-robin match of the Hero Asian Champions Trophy on September 14.

After securing a semifinal berth, India will eye to continue the winning run and supremacy over Pakistan as they are already leading the points table with four wins out of as many games.

India have beat hosts China 3-0, Japan 5-1, trouncing Malaysia 8-1 before registering a 3-1 victory against Korea in their last match. 

Pakistan meanwhile, have been resilient in the campaign under the guidance of legendary forward Tahir Zaman.

Pakistan drew 2-2 against Malaysia and Korea, before beating Japan and China 2-1 and 5-1 respectively to climb to the second spot.

Going by recent results, India enjoy an upper-hand over Pakistan.

In their last meeting at the Hangzhou Asian Games last year, India thrashed Pakistan 10-2. A few months before that, the Indians beat Pakistan 4-0 when the ACT was held in Chennai.

At the Asia Cup in Jakarta in 2022, a relatively young Indian side held Pakistan to a 1-1 draw while at the 2021 ACT in Dhaka, India beat Pakistan 4-3 to clinch the bronze medal.

India captain Harmanpreet Singh, regarded as one of the best drag-flickers in the world, is continuing his good form from Paris, and is excited to resume the rivalry against Pakistan.

Pakistan's skipper Butt is also confident about Saturday's contest and said his side has improved with each passing game.