In a dominant performance, the Pakistani hockey team registered a convincing 5-1 win over China, securing their place in the semi-finals of the 2024 Asian Hockey Champions Cup.
Nadeem Ahmed and Hanan Shahid were the stars of the match, as they each scored two goals to lead Pakistan to a comfortable victory.
Abdul Rahman added another goal to strengthen the team’s dominance.
The Green Shirts, who were unbeaten in the tournament, finished second in the points table, behind arch-rivals India.
Abdul Rahman opened the scoring for Pakistan in the 23rd minute of the match. Ahmed Nad doubled the score in the 36th minute.
In the 46th minute, Hanan Shahid made a brilliant run to score Pakistan’s third goal, before Gao Jisheng scored for China to make it 3-1 in the 48th minute.
However, in the 56th minute Nadeem again scored his second goal of the match, while Shahid completed his brace in the last minute to make it 5-1.
The Pakistan match is set to be a high-stakes encounter as Pakistan will take on traditional rivals India on Saturday.
Both teams are unbeaten throughout the tournament, which makes the upcoming encounter even more exciting.
On Wednesday, Pakistan achieved its first victory in the tournament, defeating Japan 2-1.
Nadeem Ahmed scored a goal in the first quarter to give Pakistan the lead, but Japan equalized by scoring a goal in the second quarter.
In the tenth minute of the second quarter, Sufyan Khan scored a goal to restore Pakistan’s lead, which was enough to secure the victory.
Remember, Pakistan’s first two matches ended in draws against Malaysia and South Korea respectively.
India wins over South Korea
The Indian team, led by Harmanpreet Singh, achieved its fourth successive victory in the 2024 AFC Champions Cup after defeating Korea 3-1 on Thursday. India, who have already qualified for the qualifiers, now have 12 points from four matches and have secured themselves the top spot in the points table.
In the match, Araijit Singh opened the scoring for India with his goal in the eighth minute before skipper Harmanpreet Singh scored again within 60 seconds to take India to a 2-0 lead. Korea scored at the end of the third quarter to make the score 2-1.
However, Indian skipper Harmanpreet Singh scored his second goal in the 42nd minute, extending the score to 3-1, maintaining India’s winning streak.
AFC Champions Cup 2024 points table.
“It’s not easy to beat Korea, but our motto today was to defend well. In terms of pressure, there is no pressure, as the coach gave us freedom to play our game. We trained,” said hero of the match, Suraj Karkera, from India. With Sreejesh over the years and even though this is a big position to fill, we are trying to do our best.”