Pakistan make player-count error against India at Youth Hockey5s Asian Championship

MUSCAT: Pakistan suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of traditional rivals India in the blockbuster league-stage match of the inaugural Youth Hockey5s Asian Championship here, after a team management error forced them to play with only three players.

According to the details, Pakistan mistakenly fielded six players instead of the permitted five at the start of the contest. The umpires immediately intervened after spotting the infringement and took disciplinary action, leaving the Green Shirts with only three players on the field.

India capitalised on the numerical advantage and secured a convincing 7-3 victory in the encounter. Ketan Kushwaha led the scoring with a brace, while Rahul Yadav, Shahrukh Ali, Prahalad Rajbhar, Romit Pal and Karan Gautam chipped in with one strike apiece.

For Pakistan, Adeel scored twice, while Muhammad Usman added the third goal.

For the unversed, the 7-3 defeat against India marked Pakistan's second consecutive loss at the hands of traditional rivals in the inaugural Youth Hockey 5s Asian Championship.

However, despite the two defeats against India, Pakistan finished second in the Men's Elite standings of the continental tournament and qualified for the final, where they will face the same opposition later today, with the summit clash scheduled to get underway at 11:40 PM as per Pakistan Standard Time.

Notably, Pakistan's progress to the final was inspired by their dominant performances against Bangladesh and hosts Oman.

The Green Shirts registered a thumping 5-0 victory over Oman in their campaign opener and followed it up with a 5-2 drubbing of Bangladesh. They bamboozled the host nation again in the second meeting, prevailing by 7-3 before settling for a 2-2 draw against Bangladesh.