LAHORE: In a brilliant attacking hockey, India handed Pakistan a 5-1 defeat to dent Mohammad Irfan side’s prospects of a podium finish in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup Hockey Tournament in Ipoh, Malaysia on Tuesday. For Pakistan, the opponents changed but the result was as damning as their previous two losses where they were outdone 4-0 and 5-3 by Australia and New Zealand respectively. India’s strength lied in their aggressive gameplay and Pakistan continued to miss out on several scoring opportunities. With the win, India have made a strong case to enter the medal round, while Pakistan have virtually been knocked out of the tournament. India were put on the board in just the 4th minute through Manpreet Singh and though Pakistan came back through captain Irfan’s penalty corner in the 7th, it was one way traffic for the rest of the encounter. Sunil added another goal to his tally in the 10th minute while Talwinder Singh (50) and Rupinder Pal Singh (54) scored one each in a clinical display by India. Pakistan are currently placed at the 6th spot on the table and with two more games to play against Malaysia and Japan, they need a dramatic turnaround to ensure a 3rd-4th place bronze medal playoff. Five-time winners India finished with the bronze last year and have now won three out of their four encounters in the tournament, beating Japan (2-1), Canada (3-1) and Pakistan. Pakistan, after failing to qualify for Rio Olympics, were hoping to put up a good show in Malaysia. India and Pakistan last faced each other at the Hockey World League (HWL) Semi Finals in Belguim, where the game ended with both the teams scoring two goals each. India, however, went on to reach the semifinals of the event while Pakistan’s hopes of Olympic qualification were dashed as they failed to put up a fight against Ireland. The Sultan Azlan Cup features India, Pakistan, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Japan and host Malaysia competing for the title.