CHENNAI: It's all about the emotions, isn't it? When the game becomes larger than life and play beyond stick and ball, you find yourself overwhelmed and decide to fall back on the tried and tested. India and their talismanic skipper did just that, taking refuge in penalty corners and converting them almost at will to send Pakistan packing with a 4-0 thrashing at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium on Wednesday.
Harmanpreet Singh's brace, backed up by Jugraj Singh's PC conversion and Akashdeep Singh's final touch to a smart Mandeep Singh shot, shut Pakistan (five points) out of the game and the tournament, as they lost out to Japan on goal difference to finish fifth. Resultantly, Korea and Japan - who also finished with five points - joined India and Malaysia in the last-four.
The match typified chaotic energy from the outset. The roaring Chennai crowd was silenced in the second minute, as Pakistan came up with a goal that wasn't. Krishan Bahadur Pathak palmed away an early shot at goal, and an unmarked Abdul Hanan Shahid sent it in, but as India's video referral showed, it was off his chest. The goal was disallowed, a short corner awarded instead for dangerous play, and Pathak instinctively held up his stick to parry Muhammad Khan Sufyan's sharp drag-flick over the bar. The crowd roared again.
Pakistan head coach Muhammad Saqlain, though, was not pleased with the decision, and said at half-time: "The umpire made a very big mistake. Umpiring should be better at this level. Our team is young but if umpires make such mistakes, it's very difficult to make a comeback."
After nearly getting caught off-guard early doors, India settled into a rhythm. Passes began flowing, moves began developing, and the usual aggression surfaced. Seconds before the close of the first quarter, India earned their first PC. Hardik Singh's injection was on point and Harmanpreet threaded the ultra-narrow gap between the rushers, postman and Pak goalkeeper Akmal Hussain to sound the board and put India ahead. The Indian captain exulted in a manner that he hasn't in any other game of the tourney so far, and that showed how much more this meant to him.
The offensive continued on the other side. India earned their second PC in the 23rd minute and found the net again. This time Harmanpreet went to his right, and the ferocity of the strike meant Hussain could only deflect the ball off his pad into the goal. The skipper's celebration this time was muted. He knew he was in the zone.
Lead doubled, the hosts pressed forward with greater venom from then on. They started creating chances with greater regularity, and a bunch of PCs resulted. With no Harmanpreet on the pitch, Jugraj stepped forward to take on the drag-flick mantle and shone immediately. The Indian defender struck it high and straight at Hussain, whose attempt to save proved unsuccessful. A deflated Pakistan tried to sneak in attacks whenever there was a let up, but the Indian defence never made things easy for them. In the second quarter, for instance, when Muhammad Khan pushed the ball into the circle for a surging Abdul Rehman, India's mainstay goalie PR Sreejesh preemptively rushed off the line and blocked Rehman's shot.
Meanwhile, India went along their goal-making ways. The fourth quarter saw Mandeep dodging his marker in the D and sending the ball goal ward. As Abdullah Ishtiaq charged to boot it away, Akashdeep barged in and found a touch to score India's fourth and complete the rout.
Japan beat China to qualify
Earlier South Korea went down to Malaysia 1-0, but with Pakistan losing it didn't matter. Korea, with five points made the semifinals. Japan, on the other hand, riding on Shota Yamada and Kentaro Fukuda's goals, edged China 2-1. At that stage, their goal difference was worse than Pakistan's, but once the Green Shirts lost to India 0-4, Japan went through.
Semifinal line-up: India vs Japan, Malaysia vs Korea
