Asian Champions Trophy Hockey 2021, India vs Pakistan Playoffs Highlights: India edged past Pakistan 4-3 in a thriller as they secured a bronze medal in the Asian Champions Trophy. The match went down to the wire with both team going full throttle against each other in order to stamp their authority. India started on a bright note after Harmanpreet Singh scored from the penalty corner earlier which helped India take a 1-0 lead in the first quarter. However, Pakistan's Afraz equalised for his team soon and brought the game to equal terms. Abdul Rana scored Pakistan's second goal as India went behind 2-1 in the third quarter of play. India however gathered momentum and took a crucial 3-2 lead in the final quarter through Varun Kumar on a penalty corner after Gursahibjit Singh brought India in the game as he scored the equaliser for India at the stroke of the fourth quarter with the score level at 2-2. Eventually Akashdeep Singh scored India's final goal to put India ahead 4-2 and within touching distance of a medal. Pakistan third goal went in vain as India ended the tournament at the third place.
Earlier, India had crashed to a shocking 3-5 defeat against Japan in the semi-final, despite finishing the round-robin stage with a perfect record. Meanwhile, Pakistan had lost to South Korea in their semi-final match in a 5-6 thriller.