Asian Champions Trophy | India prepare to face off Pakistan

Back in September, Indian captain PR Sreejesh commented that they will be looking to honour the Indian soldiers with a win against their Sunday's rivals.

"India-Pakistan match brings a lot of excitement to the table. We want to give hundred per cent. We don't want to disappoint our soldiers by losing, especially when they sacrifice their lives in the exchange of fire at the borders," Sreejesh had said.

Political issues aside, India had won both the inaugural tournament in 2011 and the 2015 edition by defeating Pakistan in the final. Pakistan, on the other had won back-to-back tournaments in 2012 and 2013. However, the FIH had scrapped the tournament in order to accommodate international fixtures.

India also dethroned Pakistan as the Asian Games hockey champions at Incheon, 2014 which led to Pakistan’s failure to qualify for the Rio Olympics in 2016.

But ahead of the clash, Sreejesh made a contrasting statement to his previous remarks saying,

"Pakistan is just one of the teams in the tournament. We are right now looking for three points from Saturday’s match against South Korea," said Sreejesh. After winning the tournament opener with a thumping 10-2 win over Japan, the Men in Blue were held to a tough 1-1 draw by South Korea on Saturday.

Pakistan, on the other hand, lost their first match to Malaysia, but bounced back with a 1-0 win over South Korea.

"Pressure could build up on the players from back home, so I have advised the players to focus on the match here and try to stay away even from the social media," Sreejesh said as he downplayed the recent tension between the two countries.

The match will start at 4 pm on Sunday, October 23.