HULUNBUIR CITY: Pakistan defeated Japan 2-1 to register their first victory in the ongoing Asian Hockey Champions Trophy 2024 at the Moqi Hockey Training Base here on Wednesday.
Ahmad Nadeem opened the scoring for Pakistan in the ninth minute after finding Shahid Hannan and sending the ball to the back of the net. Sufyan Khan soon doubled Pakistan’s lead in the 21st minute with a sublime drag flick.
However, Raiki Fujishima helped Japan make a subtle comeback six minutes later and reduced the deficit.
Japan made efforts to level the scores, but the Green Shirts’ dominant gameplay maintained their lead until the final hooter.
Prior to this game, Pakistan’s second fixture in the Asian Hockey Champions Trophy ended in a 2-2 draw as they failed to defend their narrow one-goal lead in the final quarter against South Korea.
South Korea opened the scoring in the dying minutes of the second quarter, courtesy of Hyun Jigwang. Their lead remained intact until the third quarter and it appeared that Pakistan were closing in on their first defeat in the ongoing tournament.
Follow us on our Official WhatsApp channel
The national team, however, made an astounding comeback as Shahid Hanan scored back-to-back last-minute goals to give the Green Shirts what appeared to be a decisive lead.
But just a few seconds before the final whistle, South Korea equalized through Kim Sunghyun and denied Pakistan a victory.
Pakistan tasted the same fortune in their Asian Hockey Champions Trophy opener against Malaysia.
They started their campaign with a 2-2 draw despite dominating the majority of the match.
The Green Shirts started the game strongly, taking the lead in the second quarter, thanks to a goal by Sufyan Khan.
In the third quarter, Nadeem Ahmed extended their lead with another goal, before Malaysia made a comeback with a goal from the penalty corner.
Pakistan were cruising towards victory with a 2-1 lead, however, Aiman Rozemi’s late goal helped Malaysia level the scores in the dying minutes of the game.
READ: De Bruyne Belgium future in doubt after ‘unacceptable’ France defeat
