India, the Olympic bronze medallist, put on a fantastic performance at the Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centers close to London on Friday, overcoming a goal deficit to give archrivals Pakistan a 7-1 thrashing in a lopsided FIH Pro League match.

In their penultimate match of the 2025-26 tournament, India dominated the second and third quarters to score at regular intervals and inflict a major defeat on Pakistan, just two days after they barely escaped a 4-3 victory in their opening encounter with the Men in Green in the London leg of the FIH Pro League matches.

Abu Mahmood gave Pakistan the lead in the 13th minute off their first penalty corner before Sukhjeet Singh (19th min), Harmanpreet Singh (26th), Hardik (34th-PS), Jugraj Singh (35th), Abhishek (41st), Raj Kumar Pal (43rd), and Dilpreet Singh (53rd min) all scored a goal apiece for India.

India’s 17th straight victory over Pakistan across all levels, which stretches back ten years, was made possible by the win.

India advanced to seventh place in the standings with this victory, surpassing Spain. Spain has 16 points from as many games, whereas India has 17 points from 15 games. On Thursday, Spain lost to Argentina in a shoot-out. Pakistan has lost every one of the 15 games it has played so far, earning it zero points.

Only three of the thirteen penalty corners and thirty-six circle penetrations that the Indians made were successful. Pakistan, on the other hand, made 18 circle penetrations but was unable to score a single field goal. They had six opportunities to convert penalty corners, but they were able to convert only one.

While forwards Abhishek, Dilpreet Singh, and Mandeep Singh controlled the Pakistan defence, Hardik Singh and Manpreet Singh expertly marshalled the Indian midfield. Hardik received the FIH Player of the Match award for his outstanding effort.

Abuy Mahmood converted a penalty corner in the 13th minute to give Pakistan the lead. They received three penalty corners in the first quarter, but were unable to score. India took the lead in the 25th minute, making it 2-1, after Sukhjeet Singh equalized in the 19th minute and skipper Harmnapreet Singh converted a PC.

In the second quarter, India completely seized control of the game by utilizing accurate long passes to expand the Pakistan defense. In the 18th minute, Pakistan experienced a setback when Ali Ghazanfar’s diverted pass struck teammate Ahmad Nadeem in the face, causing him to leave the game.

India earned a penalty corner a minute later, taking advantage of the momentum. Sukhjeet (20′) skillfully tipped Skipper Harmanpreet’s strong dragflick into the goal, bringing the score to 1-1. India earned another penalty corner in the 26th minute, which Harmanpreet blasted directly into the top left corner, giving India a 2-1 lead at halftime.

In the second half, the ‘Men in Blue’ became more dominant. India got two straight penalty corners in the 34th minute, with the second one leading to a penalty stroke.

Hardik stepped up and coolly made it 3-1. Pakistan immediately made a two-penalty corner save, but the Indian defense successfully defended the attempts.

Following their block of the second penalty corner, India launched a quick counterattack, with the ball falling to Dilpreet, who worked brilliantly with Sukhjeet before teeing up Jugraj (35′) to smash it home for a 4-1 lead.

As Sukhjeet made another opening in the 41st minute and passed to Abhishek, who scored on the run to make it 5-1, India’s frontline continued to be ruthless. Four consecutive penalty corners were awarded to India near the conclusion of the third quarter. Raj Kumar Pal reacted quickly to push the rebound from Harmanpreet’s dragflick into the wide goal, stretching the lead to 6-1 on the fourth occasion (44′).

India kept their defensive discipline throughout the last quarter while looking for more chances. Dilpreet scored India’s seventh goal of the game in the 54th minute, completing a superb play.

In the final minutes of the game, Pakistan was awarded two consecutive penalty corners, but veteran midfielder Manpreet Singh held firm to block both tries, giving India a resounding 7-1 triumph.