LAUSANNE: Pakistan’s five-a-side hockey team finished with a thrilling draw 2-2 against the arch-rivals India in a thrilling clash, while they stunned Poland 4-2 in their opening game of the International Hockey Federation(FIH) Hockey5s competition, here on Saturday.

India took the lead in the very first minute of the high-voltage game when India’s Mohammad Raheel netted the ball.

Pakistan retaliated with Liaquat Arshad’s equalizer in the 7th minute who hit the goal via a deflection after dodging the Indian defence. The first quarter tied at 1-1.

The second quarter also witnessed the intense competition as India again took the lead 2-1 in the 18th minute as Gursahibjit Singh scored a field goal deceiving Pakistan’s goalkeeper.

Pakistan, on the other hand, made several attacks which were effectively thwarted by the Indian defence. The Green Shirts finally levelled the game 2-2 just before the end of the second quarter when Abdul Rehman deflected a fine cross from the right flank.

The arch-rivals showcased a phenomenal display of game resisting each other to score any goal in the third and the fourth quarter of the match.

Earlier, Pakistan had a sublime start to their Hockey5s campaign crushing Poland 4-2 as Abuzar stunned the opponents with his three spectacular goals.

Pakistan grabbed an early lead as Murtaza Muhammad scored a fantastic field goal in the third minute to put his side ahead. However, two minutes later, Poland’s Rutkowski Wojciech scored an equalizer to tie 1-1.

Abuzar netted the ball thrice in the sixth, 12th, and 14th minutes to widen the gap between the two teams. However, Poland’s Pawlak Robert scored the second goal for his side in the 18th minute to cut the margin short to 4-2.

Pakistan will be playing two matches on Sunday. In the first match, they will face Switzerland, while in the second match they will take on Malaysia. The final of the event will also be played on Sunday at the close of the round-robin stage.

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