India defeated Pakistan in the 2024 Men’s Hockey Asia Cup final on Wednesday, with Araijit Singh Hundal scoring four goals, taking his side to a 5-3 final scoreline in Muscat.
Early in the match against the arch-rivals, Pakistan took an early lead just three minutes into the huge contest through skipper Hanan Shahid.
But the lead did not last long, as Hundal responded and scored a goal in the next minute, and the first quarter ended with the score 1-1.
India took complete control of the second quarter, with the defending champions scoring two consecutive goals through Dilraj Singh and Hundal in the 18th and 19th minutes respectively, to take a 3-1 lead.
Pakistan responded in the penultimate quarter and tied the score at 3-3 thanks to Sufyan Khan’s brace, in the 30th and 39th minutes respectively.
The fourth and final quarter witnessed the defending champion’s victory over Pakistan by scoring two goals through Hundal, which was the difference in the score.
It is worth noting that both Pakistan and India entered the final match on the back of being undefeated in the group stage and semi-finals.
This was India’s third consecutive title win in the Men’s Junior Hockey Asia Cup.
The Men in Blue defeated Pakistan in the final of the previous edition as well.