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In what was billed as a close contest turned into a lopsided affair, as India fired a whopping 10 goals past a hapless Pakistani defence to register its biggest-ever win over their traditional rivals in a Pool A match of the Hangzhou Asian Games on Saturday.
The gobsmackingly surreal match saw India running riot over their arch-rivals to register a thumping 10-2 victory. Leading from the front, India skipper Harmanpreet Singh scored four goals and Varun Kumar fired a brace to vitually seal the contest. Four quick goals from the Indians broke the back of the Pakistani defence and literally opened the flood gates. The biggest-ever win over their arch-rivals saw India storm into the semi-finals. Mandeep Singh scored India's first goal in the 8th minute of the 1st quarter. Pakistan earned its first penalty corner in the 10th minute. Skipper Harmanpreet scored India's second goal with a penalty stroke in the 11th minute. While Pakistan went into an all-out attack in opening quarter, India came away as the better of the two sides at the end of it with a2-0 lead. India introduced goalkeeper PR Sreejesh for the2nd quarter. Harmanpreet logged a brace in the 3rd quarter as India extended their lead to 3-0. Moments before the half-time whistle, India earned 4th goal following a referral. India scored their 5th, with Harmanpreet bringing up a hat-trick in the 2nd half. The Indian captain scored his fourth with a monster drag flick, extending India's lead to 6-0 in the 34th minute. With a spring in their steps, India stepped up a gear and made further forays into the Pakistani deep defence. Abdul Rehman, however, earned Pakistan a penalty corner against the run of play as he dodged past three Indian defenders, converting defence into attack with subtle stick work. Pakistan scored their first as Sufiyan Khan found the target in the 38th minute of the one-sided encounter. However, in a spectacular counter-attacking effort thereafter, Varun Kumar sprinted past Pakistani defenders to score a goal through a deflection in the 41st minute. Shamsher's goal took India's tally to 8 in the 46th minute. In the 49th minute, Lalit Upadhyay, with an assist from Jarmanpreet Singh, scored India's ninth goal. Varun fired India's tenth in the 53rd minute of the game. India will face off against Bangladesh in the last-four clash on Monday. (ANI)
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