Updated on
Summary
India and Pakistan dismissed suggestions of frayed nerves as the bitter rivals geared for a combustible field hockey clash in the Asian Games on Saturday. The group B match at the Aoti hockey stadium, where the winner will book a semi-final place. If we play as well as we are capable off, we will give the Indians a good response, said Pakistan's coach Michel van den Heuvel. We have the team to win the tournament. Pakistan, who won the last of their seven Asian Games gold medals in Beijing in 1990, have not bagged a major title since the World Cup triumph in Sydney in 1994. Pakistan captain Zeeshan Ashraf was quietly confident ahead of the key clash. We are not nervous at all, he said. India is a good team but we have planned well for this match. The morale is high after our two wins here. Pakistan showcased their awesome strike power when they smashed Hong Kong 12-0 before recording a morale-boosting 8-2 win over semi-final contenders Japan on successive days.
