After the Indian cricket team came into spotlight over the handshake snub in the Men’s Asia Cup 2025 last month, the controversy continued when the Indian women’s cricket team followed it when they took
on Pakistan Women at the ongoing ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 in Colombo. But days after the incident, the Indian junior men’s hockey team players took a different turn as they exchanged pleasantries in the Sultan of Johor Cup in their 3-3 draw.
The tournament which is underway in Malaysia, saw the Indian team take on Pakistan on Tuesday, October 14. Seeing the strained relations between the two nations, especially after the cross-border tensions, the two teams demonstrated sportsmanship as they were spotted exchanging high fives during the Sultan of Johor Cup 2025, contrasting to the ‘no handshake’ row.
Pictures surface as U-21 players share pleasantries during IND vs PAK Sultan of Johor Cup match
While the pictures of the incident are going viral on social media, the match itself proved competitive as they played a 3-3 draw in their third group stage match of the tournament. After a two-goal deficit, India displayed resilience to take a lead before Pakistan scored a late goal to level the match. With this draw, India maintained their undefeated stance in the tournament.
The Indian team will next take on Australia on Wednesday, October 15 from 6:05 pm (IST). Prior to that, New Zealand will face Pakistan, followed hosts Malaysia’s match against Great Britain.
