Form, history, facts: India vs Pakistan – Asian Champions Trophy hockey

Who: India vs Pakistan
What: Men’s Asian Champions Trophy round-robin match
When: Saturday, September 14, 3:45pm (07:45 GMT)
Where: Moqi Hockey Training Base, Hulunbuir, China
How to follow: Al Jazeera’s live text coverage begins at 05:00 GMT

South Asian sports fans can expect a mouthwatering contest on Saturday between India and Pakistan. The contest, though, will play out on the blue artificial pitch of a hockey ground and not the grassy green cricket venues that are synonymous with India-Pakistan encounters.

Three months after their matchat the International Cricket Council (ICC) Men’s T20 World Cup in New York, the neighbours will renew their rivalry in Hulunbuir – a northeastern Chinese city in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region – during the round-robin stage of the Asian Hockey Federation (AHF) Men’s Asian Champions Trophy.

Here’s everything you need to know about the sport, the tournament and the upcoming match:

India’s Akashdeep Singh, right, takes control of the ball during the men’s Asian Champions Trophy hockey match between India and Pakistan in Chennai, India on August 9, 2023 [File: R Parthibhan/AP]

Are India and Pakistan good at hockey?

You bet. Simply put, the two South Asian sides ruled the world of hockey until the early 1990s. Up until the 1947 partition, which led to the creation of Pakistan, the then-Indian team included players from both sides of the border that now divides them and won gold at the 1928, 1932 and 1936 Olympic Games.

Between them, India and Pakistan share 11 Olympic gold medals, five world titles, three FIH Champions Trophy titles and dozens of hockey legends.

It’s worth mentioning that hockey – not cricket – is the national sport of both India and Pakistan.

Olympic gold medals

• India: 8
• Pakistan: 3

World Cups

• India: 1
• Pakistan: 4

Champions Trophy

• India: 0
• Pakistan: 3

Sultan Azlan Shah Cup

• India: 5
• Pakistan: 3

Asia Cup

• India: 3
• Pakistan: 3

Asian Champions Trophy

• India: 3
• Pakistan: 3

Asian Games gold medals

• India: 4
• Pakistan: 8

South Asian Games

• India: 1
• Pakistan: 3

India vs Pakistan: Hockey rivalry and history

The 1947 partition led to the creation of two separate states, India and Pakistan. It also gave birth to a decades-long mostly political rivalry that spilled over into sport.

The 1950s and 1960s saw India and Pakistan win five Olympic gold medals between them. They clashed in three finals, of which India won two.

The teams have only met once in the World Cup final – in 1975, when India won. Regardless of the tournament and the occasion, their meetings always garner peak interest and lead to sold-out games and widespread media coverage.

Pakistani sports fans celebrate their team’s victory over India during the 26th Champions Trophy Hockey Tournament in Lahore, Pakistan on December 8, 2004, when Pakistan beat India 2-1 [File: Mohsin Raza/Reuters]

India vs Pakistan: Head-to-head record

Matches played: 180

Won by India: 66

Won by Pakistan: 82

Drawn: 32

Goals scored by India: 377

Goals scored by Pakistan: 402

Form guide: India

India have been producing better results of the two South Asian neighbours in the past few years.

Most recently, India won the bronze medal at the Paris Olympics 2024 and are the reigning champions of the Asian Games, Asian Champions Trophy and Commonwealth Games.

The men in blue are undefeated in their four games at the current tournament.

Last five results:

• India 3-1 South Korea
• India 8-1 Malaysia
• India 5-1 Japan
• India 3-0 China
• India 2-1 Spain (Paris Olympics)

Form guide: Pakistan

Of late, Pakistan’s form and returns on the hockey pitch have been mixed. The Greenshirts have won two and drawn two of their four round-robin stage matches at the ongoing tournament.

Shockingly, Pakistan have failed to qualify for the last three Olympic Games and two of the last three World Cups.

Last five results:

• Pakistan 1- China
• Pakistan 2-1 Japan
• Pakistan 2-2 South Korea
• Pakistan 2-2 Malaysia
• Pakistan 2(1)-2(4) Japan (Sultan Azlan Shah Cup)

India’s players celebrate after winning the bronze-medal match against Spain at the Paris Olympics 2024 [Anushree Fadnavis/Reuters]

What’s field hockey and how is it played?

Simply known as hockey, the 11-a-side sport is played on a synthetic pitch – also known as Astroturf – between two teams.

All 11 players move a hockey ball with a hockey stick with the aim of slotting it into the back of the opposition’s goal. The team scoring more goals wins.

Hockey sticks are made from a mixture of fibreglass, carbon and aramid and include a long handle that leads to a curved head that is used for manoeuvring the ball on the field and hitting it into the goal.

The global governing body of the sport is the International Hockey Federation (FIH).

How is a goal scored in hockey?

A goal can only be scored from inside the striking circle and can come from direct play, penalty corners or penalty strokes.

Spain’s goalkeeper Luis Calzado, left, is unable to stop a shot on goal by India’s Harmanpreet Singh during the men’s bronze medal field hockey match between India and Spain at the Paris Olympics 2024 [Aijaz Rahi/AP]

How long is a hockey match?

A hockey match is played over 60 minutes, divided into four quarters of 15 minutes each. Half-time is taken between the second and third quarters and lasts 15 minutes. Two-minute breaks are taken after the first and third quarters.

Stoppages in play due to injuries or the ball being out of play lead to the halting of the clock, which usually makes the game last longer than the stipulated 60 minutes.

Up until 2019, the game was played across two halves of 35 minutes each with a five-minute break in between.

What’s the Asian Champions Trophy tournament?

A continental hockey tournament that began in 2011, this contest is played amongst the six best teams in the region.

All teams face each other in a round-robin format and the top four qualify for the semifinals.

Which teams are playing in the Asian Champions 2024?

• China
• India
• Japan
• Malaysia
• Pakistan
• South Korea

Who are the past winners of the Asian Champions Trophy?

• 2011: India
• 2012: Pakistan
• 2013: Pakistan
• 2016: India
• 2018: India and Pakistan (joint winners)
• 2021: South Korea
• 2023: India

India squad

Harmanpreet Singh (captain), Krishan Bahadur Pathak, Suraj Karkera, Jarmanpreet Singh, Amit Rohidas, Jugraj Singh, Sanjay, Sumit, Rajkumar Pal, Nilakanta Sharma, Vivek Sagar Prasad, Manpreet Singh, Mohammed Raheel Mouseen, Abhishek, Sukhjeet Singh, Araijeet Singh Hundal, Uttam Singh, Gurjot Singh

Pakistan squad

Ammad Butt (captain), Abdul Rehman, Ajaz Ahmad, Ghazanfar Ali, Muhammad Hammaduddin, Zikriya Hayat, Abdullah Ishtiaq Khan, Sufyan Khan, Arshad Liaqat, Abu Mahmood, Nadeem Ahmad, Faisal Qadir, Rana Waheed Ashraf, Sulman Razzak, Rooman, Hannan Shahid, Moin Shakeel, Muneeb-ur-Rehman