Pakistan and Japan gave it their all in the Asian Champions Trophy round-robin match before settling for a thrilling 3-3 draw in Chennai on Sunday.
PHF secretary Brig Musarutullah Khan said his team will not have any problem touring India for the inaugural Afro-Asian Games.
Going by the hockey parent body's new data collection, India and Pakistan have met in only 47 head-to-head internationals and many more fails. Read on to find out how the history of this famed rivalry is being binned
Pakistan's hopes of hosting the Champions Trophy men's hockey tournament received another jolt as Britain, the replacement for Australia, expressed unwillingness to tour the country.
India produced a disappointing performance to lose to arch-rivals Pakistan 0-1 in a lacklustre summit clash of men's hockey at the 12th South Asian Games in Guwahati on Friday.
Reigning silver medallists India will open their campaign against arch-rivals Pakistan in a mouth-watering men's hockey contest of the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.
While players and teams from other participating nations can venture out as and when they wish, individual outings are a big 'No' for the Pakistani players. They are allowed to visit places in groups only and have to mandatorily inform the security a day in advance.
India defeated arch-rivals Pakistan 5-2 in an inconsequential round robin match to register their first win in the Lanco International Super Series hockey tournament in Perth on Saturday.
'I believe they (India) can definitely finish on the podium in Odisha this time'
Harmanpreet's penalty corners and Akashdeep's strike helped India down their arch-rivals.
The Pakistan Hockey Federation said it would not consider the trio of Sohail Abbas, Mohammad Saqlain and Waseem Ahmed for selection because they deserted the team.
Traditional rivals India and Pakistan are best-suited for hockey's new nine-a-side format, Hockey 9's which will make its debut with the LANCO International Super Series in Perth from October 20-23, said it's mastermind Ric Charlesworth.
Favourites India prevailed 3-2 over arch-rivals Pakistan to reclaim the Asian Champions Trophy hockey, presenting a perfect Diwali gift to the nation in Kuantan, Malaysia on Sunday. Goals from Rupinder Pal Singh (18th minute), Yousuf Affan (23rd) and Nikkin Thimmaiah (51st) helped India surmount the challenge from Pakistan, who rallied from two goals behind through strikes by Muhammad Aleem Bilal (26th) and Ali Shaan (38th) in the title clash of the fourth edition of tournament. This was the first time the teams were meeting in the final of a continental tournament since India dethroned Pakistan as the Asian Games champions in Incheon, South Korea in 2014.
Acknowledging the supreme sacrifice made by Indian soldiers at the borders, national hockey captain P R Sreejesh, on Wednesday, vowed that his team will give its all to beat Pakistan in the Asian Champions Trophy in Malaysia next month.
They lifted the Asian Champions Trophy jointly but India and Pakistan were locked in a war of words over how the decision was reached to abandon the final after a thunderstorm and heavy showers in Muscat.
Defending champions India produced an inspiring display and scored thrice in the second half to beat archrivals Pakistan 4-2 in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup hockey tournament in Ipoh, Malaysia, on Friday.
The Pakistan Hockey Federation has allowed eight Pakistan Olympians to take part in the Indian league.
But at the end of the day, the Indians came out superior and continued their recent domination over Pakistan that includes back-to-back victories in the Hockey World League Semi-Final in London earlier this year.
More matches between arch-rivals India and Pakistan will only benefit both sides as well as continent's hockey
Since hockey's introduction at Commonwealth Games 24 years ago, World No.1 Australia have been the most dominant force, having won all six gold medals till date.
Constant changes in the rules of field hockey have affected the performance of former giants of the game -- India and Pakistan -- while benefiting European teams the most, according to ace Pakistan forward Rehan Butt.
India went down 2-3 in the men's final at the South Asian Games.
Pakistan men's team slumped to a new low as it failed to qualify for next year's Rio Olympics.
Scoring field goals was a major concern in Paris but here the young forwardline comprising Sukhjeet Singh, Abhishek, Uttam Singh, Gurjot Singh, Araijeet Singh Hundal and others have exceeded expectations.
Pakistan registered their worst performance in the hockey World Cup as a resilient Canada pushed the Asian giants to last place in the mega event with a golden goal victory in New Delhi on Thursday.
PHF secretary Khalid Mehmood said the decision to skip the tournament in Chennai was because the players need more time to rectify their flaws.
India blanked arch-rivals Pakistan 4-0 to open its campaign on a rousing note in the final edition of the Champions Trophy hockey tournament.
Malaysia scored thrice in the second half to score a come-from-behind 3-2 victory over Japan and help India enter the final of the Asian Champions Trophy hockey tournament in Ordos, China, on Friday. India had earlier in the day staged a remarkable fightback to hold arch-rivals Pakistan 2-2 in a thrilling final group encounter.
Pakistan will not be able to send its national team for Azlan Shah tournament in Malaysia next month and the junior team to Singapore unless the government released the promised funds, Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) has said.
A dominant India hammered arch-rivals Pakistan 5-1 with SV Sunil striking twice in a round-robin league match of the Sultan Azlan Cup hockey tournament in Ipoh on Tuesday. The highlight of the match was four fantastic field goals from India while the other came from a penalty corner conversion. After their scrappy win over Canada in the last match, the Indians rose to the occasion and looked more organised and purposeful against Pakistan. It took India just four minute to take the lead through Manpreet Singh, who scored with a fierce reverse shot from a tight angle after being fed by Sunil. But Pakistan equalised three minutes later when skipper Muhammad Irfan (7th minute) converted the second of their successive penalty corners. India restored their lead in the 10th minute through Sunil, who scored with a deft touch off Manpreet's shot from outside the circle.
India squandered a one-goal lead and went down 1-3 to Pakistan in the Azlan Shah Cup hockey tournament in Ipoh, Malaysia, on Wednesday.
Will ask England to probe India's fixing attempt charge: FIH The complaint was lodged with the FIH after Indian team manager Jugraj Singh asked HI to take up the matter seriously with the FIH in his post-tournament report.
'Right now hockey is totally changed and anyone can beat anyone depending on the day. It depends on how many chances you create.'
Germany ended Belgium's dominance in global hockey in the last five years after yet another stunning comeback from two-goal deficit to beat the defending champions in the penalty shoot-out to win the FIH Hockey Men's World Cup for a third time, in Bhubaneswar, on Sunday.
Pakistan slumped to their worst defeat in the tournament when a lowly South Africa stunned the Asian giants 4-3 in a must-win Pool B match to shatter their semifinal dreams at the hockey World Cup in New Delhi on Saturday.
India went on a scoring spree in the second half to thrash arch-rivals Pakistan 5-1 in the Sultan of Johor Cup hockey tournament in Malaysia on Tuesday. Locked 1-1 at the breather, the Indians came out a transformed side after the change of ends and scored four more goals.
India beat Pakistan 3-1 and collected their first points in the Sultan Azlan Shah hockey tournament, in Ipoh, Malaysia, on Tuesday. The former champions, who had to win to stay in the race for a berth in the final after losing to Australia and South Korea earlier, led 2-1 at the breather.
Check out how India's athletes fared on Day 13, Thursday, August 8.
The simmering tension on the India-Pakistan border spilled over to the sporting arena on Tuesday, with a rattled Hockey India deciding to send back all the nine Pakistani players taking part in its high-profile league following protests over the killing of Indian soldiers.
Penalty-corner ace Sohail Abbas, goalkeeper Ahmad Alam, forwards Shabbir Hussain and Kashif Jawad have been left out of the 16-member squad for the Afro Asian Games.
