India, Pakistan set for intriguing semi

BHUBANESWAR, Dec 12 (AFP): Arch-rivals India and Pakistan return to centre stage in field hockey Saturday after a controversial format helped them reach the Champions Trophy semi-finals in Bhubaneswar.

Instead of rewarding performances in the preliminary league, all eight teams were assured of reaching the quarter-finals-a round which turned the tournament on its head, and left some teams quietly fuming.

The top four teams in the league-England, the Netherlands, Argentina and Belgium-were all knocked out in Thursday's round of eight, while the bottom four sailed through to the semi-finals.

The format also helped new-look world champions Australia, seeking a sixth successive title, and Olympic gold-medallists Germany recover from shaky starts to line up for Saturday's other semi-final.

Hosts India, ranked ninth in the world, fought back from a 0-2 deficit to beat number four Belgium 4-2. Eleventh-ranked Pakistan stunned the Dutch by a similar margin after losing all their three league matches.

The Germans knocked out England 2-0 and Australia ousted Argentina 4-2.

Dutch coach Max Caldas had been wary of the format from the start. "If you lose all three league games, you could still win the tournament and I think that's bad," he had said earlier in the week.