NEW DELHI: After registering a resounding victory against arch-rivals Pakistan, India midfielder Manpreet Singh hailed his team's performance and said that Men in Blue are not under any pressure for their semifinals clash in the Asian Champions Trophy. India defeated Pakistan 4-0 to finish on top of the table.
The Indian hockey team will face Japan in the semifinals on Friday.
"I think our overall performance was very good. Unfortunately, we missed many chances. Overall the game was fantastic as everyone gave their 100 per cent because we knew this match was crucial for us to top the pool. We started our tournament with an easy win against China. Our coach believed that if our defence is good then we can score more goals. We worked really hard on our defence and comprehend how can we stop our opponent. We knew that Pakistan have many skilful players and used tactics to block them," Manpreet said.
1/10:Asian Champions Trophy: Harmanpreet scores brace as India blank Pakistan 4-0
2/10:Harmanpreet's twin-strike seals the deal
<p>Skipper Harmanpreet Singh struck twice from penalty corners as a dominant India thrashed arch-rivals Pakistan 4-0 to maintain their unbeaten run in the Asian Champions Trophy hockey tournament in Chennai on Wednesday.<br /><br /></p>
3/10:Pakistan no match for India
<p>Having already sealed their semi-final spot before the match, India played confidently and completely dominated the match, while Pakistan were always playing catch-up.<br /></p>PTI
4/10:Harmanpreet scores the first one through low flick
<p>Harmanpreet handed India the lead converting the team's first penalty corner with a powerful low flick to the left of Pakistan goalkeeper Akmal Hussain just at the stroke of the first quarter.<br /></p>
5/10:India make it 2-0 via Harmanpreet's fierce drag-flick
<p>India won their second penalty corner in the 23rd minute and Harmanpreet scored with a fierce drag-flick in between Pakistan goalkeeper Akmal's legs.<br /><br /></p>
6/10:Constant attacks put pressure on Pakistan
<p>India continued to put pressure on Pakistan defence with constant attacks and in the process earned back-to-back penalty corners in the 30th minute but Harmanpreet failed on both the occasions.<br /></p>AP
7/10:India lead Pakistan 2-0 at half-time
<p>India led Pakistan 2-0 at the half-time after exhibiting a great style of attacking hockey in the first 30 minutes.<br /></p>PTI
8/10:Jugraj makes it 3-0 for India
<p>Six minutes into the third quarter, India secured their third penalty corner and this time Jugraj Singh made no mistake to hand the hosts a comfortable 3-0 lead.<br /></p>AP
9/10:Pakistan fail to convert the rare chances
<p>Pakistan earned a rare penalty corner, their second, in the 43rd minute but wasted the opportunity.<br /></p>AP
10/10:Fine field goal by Akashdeep
<p>India made the scoreline 4-0 in their favour in the 55th minute when Akashdeep Singh deflected in Mandeep Singh's strike.<br /></p>APWhile talking about their next semis clash against Japan, Manpreet said: "We are not under pressure for semifinals. Crowd support is really fantastic here."
"We are preparing well for Asian Games as you can see. We will meet these teams in the Asian Games too," he said.
