India are the defending champions and this will be the fourth Pakistan vs India hockey final at the Junior Asia Cup
ISLAMABAD: Arch-rivals Pakistan and India will face off in the Men’s Junior Asia Cup 2023 hockey final at the Salalah Sports Complex in Oman on Thursday (today).
The final match of the tournament is scheduled to start at 9:00pm PST. Both Pakistan and India are undefeated in the Men’s Junior Asia Cup 2023 hockey. Interestingly, the two teams clashed earlier in the league stages with the match ending in a 1-1 draw. India, however, managed to top the group as they had a better goal difference over second-placed Pakistan.
The defending champions, Indian hockey team, opened its campaign with an 18-0 win over Chinese Taipei and later earned a 3-1 win over Japan. India trounced Thailand 17-0 in their final group match. In the semi-finals, India beat the Republic of Korea 9-1.
The Pakistan hockey team, on the other hand, thrashed Chinese Taipei 15-1 in its opener, beat Thailand 9-0 and upstaged Japan 3-2 in the final league game. In the semis, Pakistan defeated Malaysia 6-2.
The final game will also set the stage for the battle between Pakistan’s Abdul Rehman, who is currently the tournament’s joint-top scorer with nine goals, and Indian attacker Araijeet Singh Hundal, who has seven strikes on his credit.
Pakistan and India have met in the final of the Junior Asia Cup hockey three times before. Pakistan won the 1996 final while India emerged triumphant in 2004. At the last edition in 2015 played in Malaysia, India beat Pakistan in the final to win the title. The Men’s Junior Asia Cup hockey tournament is being held after eight years as the 2021 edition was cancelled due to COVID.
