ISLAMABAD: Pakistan hockey team, while delivering a dismal performance, grabbed fifth place by defeating China 6-1 in the ongoing Asian Champions Trophy in Chennai, India.
During the contest, Pakistan took an early lead with a field goal by Muhammad Imad in the 10th minute of the first quarter. In a couple of minutes, Mohammad Sufyan Khan extended the lead with two penalty corner goals to secure the lead further.
Meanwhile, just before the end of the first quarter Abdul Hanan Shahid scored the fourth goal. In the 35th minute of the game, China’s CHEN Benhai brought some relief for his team while scoring a goal via a penalty corner. However, in the later stages, Muhammad Imad and Rana Abdul Waheed scored one goal each through a penalty corner and a field attempt for Pakistan to take the lead to a secure stage. CHEN Chongcong of China received a green card, while Pakistan’s Osama Bashir got a yellow card during the match.
Pakistan player Mohammad Imad was awarded the Best Young Player of the Match, while Captain Umar Bhatta got the Hero of the Match award.
Pakistan’s 5th Place in the Event
Unlike previous Asia Cup events, Pakistan’s performance was not up to the mark. The team scored 7 field goals and 6 penalty corner goals during the whole event. In the 2002 Hockey Asia Cup, Pakistan settled as 5th out of 8 teams; however, in 2023, Pakistan’s performance went down while grabbing the same 5th position but among the 6 teams.
