India need to shrug off familiar classification stage woes against Pakistan

Sundeep Misra


Akashdeep Singh celebrates scoring the fifth goal for India against Pakistan on 18 June. Getty Images

Expected to be building towards a top-four finish at the Hockey World League Semi-Final, India find themselves in a dark tunnel locked in a battle for the 5th to 8th positions. Standing in front of them are Pakistan, who honestly India had thought had been consigned to the classification bin after the 7-1 thrashing in a Pool B match. But their own brittle mind, combined with play that should embarrass them whenever they see video replays, have brought forth the rivalry into play again.