India produced a dominant all-round display to beat arch-rivals Pakistan 7-1 in their penultimate match of the FIH Pro League 2025-26 season at the Lee Valley Hockey & Tennis Centre in London on Friday.
Pakistan struck first through captain Abu Bakar Mahmood, but India responded strongly with seven different goal scorers to complete a comprehensive victory.
Pakistan, ranked 12th in the world, started brightly despite India winning three early penalty corners.
Abu Bakar Mahmood gave Pakistan the lead in the 13th minute, converting his team’s first penalty corner near the end of the opening quarter.
Ahmed Nadeem, who had scored Pakistan’s opener in Tuesday’s match, was forced to leave the field in a wheelchair after taking a blow to the face.
India turn game around
India equalised in the 20th minute when Sukhjeet Singh deflected captain Harmanpreet Singh’s penalty corner into the net.
Harmanpreet then put India ahead in the 26th minute, firing a penalty corner directly into the bottom corner to make it 2-1 before half-time.
India took complete control after the restart.
Hardik Singh scored from a penalty stroke in the 34th minute after Sanjay’s deflected shot struck a Pakistani defender inside the danger zone.
Moments later, Jugraj Singh made it 4-1 in the 35th minute following a fast counterattack after Pakistan’s penalty corner was stopped at the other end.
Abhishek added a brilliant reverse-stick finish in the 41st minute, before Raj Kumar Pal tapped in from Harmanpreet’s drag flick in the 44th minute to make it 6-1 before the end of the third quarter.
Dilpreet seals dominant win
Dilpreet Singh scored in the final quarter in the 54th minute to complete India’s 7-1 win.
The result marked India’s second consecutive victory over Pakistan in the tournament, after their narrow 4-3 win in the first leg at the same venue earlier in the week.
Standings and head-to-head record
The win lifted world No. 8 India to seventh place in the FIH Hockey Pro League standings with 17 points from 15 matches.
Pakistan suffered their 14th consecutive defeat in the nine-team tournament and remain at the bottom with zero points from 15 games, leaving them set for relegation to the FIH Nations Cup next season.
India are unbeaten against Pakistan in international hockey since 2016, although Pakistan still lead the overall head-to-head record 82-69.
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