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DAZHOU: Pakistan eased past China with a 2-1 victory in the group stage fixture of the U-18 Hockey Asia Cup to seal a spot in the semi-final here at the Dazhou National Hockey Training Centre on Wednesday.
Green Shirts continued their unbeaten run in the tournament after displaying sheer dominance in the previously completed games.
Pakistan started the match in emphatic fashion, scoring a goal in the 11th minute thanks to Hassan Shehbaz’s brilliance.
Despite a thrilling second quarter that saw a total of four penalties awarded to each team, the score held steady at 1-0. Green Shirts netted a goal in the third quarter to take a decisive lead in the match.
Meanwhile, the hosts did make a comeback in the same minute as Jiaxing Lin scored a much-needed goal on a penalty corner.
China made a valiant effort to score another goal and level the match, but their attempts were thwarted by goalkeeper Ghulam Mustafa, who ensured the scoreline remained intact.
The win continued Pakistan’s dominant winning run in the tournament, securing their position at the top of Group A with 12 points.
Earlier, defeated Bangladesh 6-3, Sri Lanka 9-0 and crushed Hong Kong 8-0 to mark the beginning of the campaign in a dominant fashion.
The Men in Green will now face Malaysia in the semi-final on Friday at the same venue.
The U18 Hockey Asia Cup, held in China from July 3 to July 13, features teams from 11 nations. The teams include China, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Japan, Chinese Taipei, Uzbekistan, Indonesia, and Kazakhstan.
Pakistan has been placed in Pool A alongside China, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Hong Kong.
Pakistan Hockey Squad for U-18 Asia Cup
Mohammad Usman, Atif Ali, Asam Junaid, Mohammad Abdullah Farooq, Abdullah Awan, Zubair Lateef, Mohammad Yaseen, Mohammad Ali Taj, Ghulam Mustafa, Ali Hamza, Ali Hamzad, Aamir Sohail, Adeel Afzal, Mohammad Zaman, Mohammad Hussain, Mohammad Shaheer, Hasan Shahbaz, Yaseen Jamshaid
Team management
Shafqat Malik (manager); Mukhtar Ahmed, Touseeq Ahmed, Masood-ur-Rahman (coaches)
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