India beat Pakistan, and vice versa

No one’s quite sure what sparked the fight, but Pakistan’s Mohammad Irfan was the one who got involved first, and came off worst, in the unruly scuffle. Four minutes from half time, with India leading by a goal, Irfan seemed to have hit Mandeep Antil in the stomach. Kashif Ali and SV Sunil joined in, followed by the rest of the squad, and soon it was a free-for-all. Play was halted for about 10 minutes as the umpires tried to sort out the issue.

A bleeding Irfan was suspended, and both captains were given a warning. And with the captains and players shaking hands at the end of the game, no announcement of any enquiry of sorts was made.

Apart from the scuffle, it was India all the way — repeatedly creating chances and rock-solid in defence.

Perhaps it was the Maradona effect — the team had watched a special video of the Argentine legend in the morning. The Pakistan side, incidentally, watched Chak de India! — for inspiration — on the eve of the match. That didn’t quite work out.

In the game played at a furious pace, Pakistan had the first chance in the very first minute when they earned a penalty corner. Drag-flick expert Kashif Ali’s effort, however, was saved. That was the beginning of a harrowing 70 minutes for Ali, who saw four of his five strikes wasted.

It was India’s turn to go on the offensive thereafter, and the hosts struck first when Roshan Minz completed a one-two with Gurvinder Singh Chandi and slotted the ball in between Pakistan goalkeeper Imran Shah’s legs.

The Indian forward line, off-colour so far in the tournament despite the strong midfield, was unstoppable. Gurbaj Singh’s perfect passes, Mandeep Antil’s speedy runs, Chandi’s hits and Diwakar Ram and Innocent Kullu’s tackling — it all worked. Pakistan’s over-dependence on penalty corners did them in.

“Sreejesh had seen videos of Kashif repeatedly, and managed to save a couple of shots today. That made the difference,” India coach AK Bansal said.

The second half’s game was a style India and Pakistan are known for, but something that hasn’t been seen for a long time. Open chances, repeated attacks, skilled stickwork — it was all there. India went 2-0 up when Diwakar converted a penalty corner in the 38th minute, and though Pakistan managed to pull one back four minutes later, it was not their day. Diwakar’s second goal in the 47th minute put things beyond the three-time champions.

“More than any planning or tactics, it is a question of holding up under pressure against Pakistan. The team that managed to do so won,” said Bansal.

In the other semi-final, Korea won 4-2 against Japan. Nam Hyun Woo scored all four for Korea and is now the leading scorer in the tournament.

Other results: Bangladesh beat Singapore 3-1 (in tie-breaker); Malaysia beat Oman 5-1