Asia Cup 2022 | India to open campaign against Pakistan in pool A clash
A file image of Manpreet Singh.
|(Twitter)
At the men's Asia Cup 2022, which will be contested in Jakarta, Indonesia from May 23 to June 1, the Indian hockey team will renew its rivalry with Pakistan. This year's Asia Cup will include eight of the continent's heavyweights, including Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Bangladesh, and hosts Indonesia.
India is the defending champion, having won the tournament three times and finished the second five times. India and Pakistan, two of the most successful field hockey teams in the world, have been placed in Pool A. The other countries in the pool are Japan and Indonesia.
India and Pakistan last met at the Asian Champions Trophy in 2021, when India won the bronze medal with a 4-3 victory over Pakistan. Despite the fact that Pakistan has a better head-to-head record in hockey, India has dominated the match in recent years, winning 13 of the last 15 games. One game ended in a tie, while the other was called off due to rain.
Pakistan last defeated India in the final of the South Asia Games in 2016. All countries will play the other three teams in their pool once in a round-robin format at the Asia Cup, which was postponed last year because to the COVID-19 pandemic. Each group's top two players will proceed to the Super 4s round.
The GBK Sports Complex Hockey Stadium in Jakarta will host all of the matches. The top three teams from the competition will qualify for the FIH Hockey World Cup, which will be contested in Odisha, India, next year. As the host nation, India has already qualified for the World Cup.
