India beats Pakistan.
U18 Mens Asia Cup: The Indian Under-18 men’s hockey team defeated arch-rival Pakistan 5-3 in a thrilling and high-voltage semi-final match of the Under-18 Asia Cup 2026. In this match played on Friday, the Indian team was trailing by 2-3 till the last quarter, but in the last minutes, the Indian forward line showed such an aggressive game which completely destroyed Pakistan’s defense. With this resounding victory, India confirmed its place in the title match of the tournament.
There was a tough competition in the first half
The match started very cautiously and defensively from both the teams. Both teams were struggling to control the midfield. India got its first major success in the 12th minute of the match, when due to a brilliant move made from their own half, Pakistani defenders made a mistake and India got a penalty stroke. Forward Ashish Tani Purti put the ball in the net without making any mistake and gave India an early lead of 1-0.
But Pakistan made a comeback in the second quarter. On the penalty corner received in the 16th minute, Indian goalkeeper Ayush Rajak and defender Ansh Bahtra together foiled Ahmed Uzair’s powerful drag-flick. However, Pakistan’s pressure paid off and in the 27th minute, Adeel intercepted an Indian pass and scored a field goal to level the match at 1-1. The score remained the same till halftime.
Pakistan took lead in the third quarter
After halftime the pace of the game increased further. In the 35th minute, Shahrukh Ali (35th minute) took advantage of the excellent passing game and scored a brilliant goal and put India ahead 2-1. But this happiness of India did not last long. Pakistan’s Muhammad Farhan Aslam scored a field goal after just two minutes (37th minute) to make the score 2-2. After this, in the 42nd minute, Uzair Ahmed Qureshi converted the penalty corner into a goal with an accurate drag-flick and put Pakistan ahead 3-2 for the first time in the match.
Ashish’s storm in the last quarter
In the fourth and last quarter, the Indian team was in danger of being eliminated, after which the boys started attacking in a do-or-die style. In the 46th minute, Pakistan’s Muzammil Saeed got a green card and India took advantage of this and scored consecutive penalty corners. Ashish (49th minute) scored a goal through an excellent drag-flick to give India a 3-3 draw. After this, only Team India’s glory was seen on the field. By converting another penalty corner that India got in the 53rd minute, Ashish (53rd minute) not only completed his hat-trick but also gave India a 4-3 lead.
Just four minutes before the end of the match, India once again got a penalty corner, and the hero of this match, Ashish (56th minute) scored his fourth goal, closing all the ways for Pakistan’s comeback and making the score 5-3. Now the Indian Under-18 team will face Japan in the title match tomorrow i.e. on June 6 at 3:30 pm.
