Champions Trophy Hockey Tournament
Pakistan loses to India despite early lead
Australia fight back to beat Spain

CHENNAI—A stunning late resurgence saw India shock Pakistan 3-2 in a heart-stopping Champions Trophy Hockey encounter between the arch-rivals at the Radhakrishna Stadium in Chennai on Sunday.
It was a brace by young drag-flicker Sandeep Singh in the dying minutes which earned the Indians, who have never won the elite six-nation contest, a memorable win over the in-form Pakistanis. Down 0-2 at one stage, India fought back nicely to pump in three goals in the last 10 minutes of the match to earn three crucial points and keep alive their hopes for a finish in the medal bracket.
Young striker Tushar Khandekar scored the first goal for India in the 60th minute of the match, followed by two power-packed drag-flicks by Sandeep Singh in the 61st and 66th minutes to get the better of Pakistan, who were leading by two goals scored off the sticks of Mohammed Imran (53rd min) and Tariq Aziz (57th min). The hosts were a completely different side after their lacklustre performance on Saturday. Right from the start, they went offensive and succeeded in creating several chances.
The fact that they were able to earn four penalty corners in the first six minutes of the game speaks enough of the Indians’ mode of attack. However, in the first half the hosts squandered away many a chance of scoring, including five penalty corners and three field goal chances. Especially, failure by Vikram Pillay and Khandekar to hit at the open goal were the noticeable misses.
In another match, Olympic gold medallists Australia came from behind to defeat title holders Spain 4-2 in the Champions Trophy field hockey tournament here on Sunday.
Australia, trailing 1-2 at half-time, pumped in three goals in a breathtaking second-half resurgence to record their second consecutive win in the elite six-nation annual event. The Kookaburras, who had won their maiden Olympic title in Athens last year, trounced Germany 4-1 in Saturday’s opening match.
Australia took an early lead in the fifth minute when Jamie Dwyer’s stinging shot rebounded off Spanish goalkeeper Francisco Cortes’ pads and Travis Brookes pounced on the loose ball to score. Santiago Freixa, the International Hockey Federation’s reigning young player of the year, drew level seven minutes later through a penalty corner and gave Spain the lead in the 26th minute with a superbly crafted goal.
Freixa broke through the Australian defence, dodged past three players and pushed the ball home to the left of the goal. Australia went onto the attack after the resumption and made it 2-2 when Michael McCann was brought down inside the circle by Spanish defender Andreu Enrich and captain Brent Livermore converted a penalty stroke.
Luke Doerner flicked in a penalty corner in the 50th minute and McCann scored Australia’s last goal four minutes before the final whistle. Spain, who had beaten hosts India 2-1 on Saturday, were confined to three points from two matches.