India have been unbeaten in Aichi-Nagoya and topped Pool A with five wins from five matches. They began with a 13-1 win over Indonesia and followed it with a 16-1 victory against Sri Lanka. India then defeated South Korea 8-2 — their biggest Asian Games win over the Koreans — before beating hosts Japan 2-0. They completed the pool stage with a 10-0 rout of Bangladesh.
Dilpreet Singh has scored nine goals, while Abhishek and captain Harmanpreet Singh have eight each. Harmanpreet’s penalty-corner drag-flicks will be a key weapon against Pakistan.
India, however, will miss midfielder Raj Kumar Pal after he suffered a left thumb fracture. Nilakanta Sharma has been brought into the squad, with coach Craig Fulton highlighting his experience at the Olympics and World Cup.
Pakistan reached the semifinal after finishing second in Pool B following a narrow 4-5 loss to Malaysia. They had beaten Thailand, Uzbekistan, China and Oman in their other matches. Sufiyan Khan, with 11 goals, currently leads the tournament scoring charts and will pose a major threat from penalty corners.
India have not lost to Pakistan since the 2016 South Asian Games final. Fulton said the semifinal was a “game of consequence” and backed his side’s momentum after five strong pool-stage performances.