HULUNBUIR CITY: South Korea came from behind to hold Pakistan for a draw in the fourth match of the Asian Hockey Champions Trophy here in Inner Mongolia, China.
Pakistan’s second fixture in the ongoing tournament also ended in a 2-2 draw as they failed to defend their narrow one-goal lead in the final quarter.
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.
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.
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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.
Meanwhile, in other Monday fixtures of the Asian Hockey Champions Trophy, India outclassed Japan 5-1 while China crushed Malaysia 2-0.
The ongoing tournament is the 8th edition of the Asian Champions Trophy. Pakistan have won the tournament in 2012 and 2013, while India have won in 2011, 2016 and 2023.
The 2018 edition saw Pakistan and India jointly sharing the trophy as the final was forfeited due to persistent rain.
Defending champions India won the prestigious tournament last year by defeating Malaysia 4–3 in the final.
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