Jakarta
It was only consolation for India. The team that lost in sudden death on the back of an ordinary performance against Malaysia in the semifinals gave its supporters a lot to cheer about. India beat Pakistan 2-1 to win the bronze medal and put behind the hurt of not qualifying for the final. Amidst the chants of ‘India jeetega’, the team started on a fast pace to go ahead inside three minutes.

Lalit Upadhyay squared it up for Akashdeep Singh to open the scoring. Pakistan had their chances to level the score in the second period but failed to convert any of the two back-to-back penalty corners. When Harmanpreet Singh converted a penalty corner in the 50th minute, the game looked safe but Pakistan reduced the deficit two minutes later.
Despite a few scares in the dying minutes, India held on. Indian skipper PR Sreejesh said: “We had a bad day on Thursday. We wanted to prove ourselves that we were better than that. We finished on a winning note so that’s a great boost for the team.”

Indian coach Harendra Singh said he was proud that the team showed character to bounce back from the loss. “Going back empty-handed would have been a disaster. Something is better than nothing,” said Harendra.