LAHORE: A 50th minute field goal by Umar Bhutta helped Pakistan manage a 2-2 draw against Japan in the second match of the 10th Asia Cup hockey tournament in Dhaka, Bangladesh, according to the information received here on Friday.

Pakistan seized the lead initially when Arslan Qadir cashed in on a short corner in the 16th minute of play after the first quarter of the game had remained goalless. But it was short-lived as Japan restored the parity through Kenta Tanaka who capitalised on a field effort to make it 1-1 in the 22nd minute.

On the offensive from thereon, Japan forged ahead by gaining the lead when Heita Yoshihara made it 2-1 in the 29th minute through a field goal.

Pakistan, which had defeated hosts Bangladesh in the first match by a big margin 7-0, appeared to be struggling at the end of the third quarter as Japan held on to its 2-1 lead. However, in the final quarter, talented Umar banged home the equalizer in the 50th minute, crowning a fine field effort.

In the second match of the day, India thrashed Bangladesh 7-0 to clinch the top position in Pool-A with six points. Pakistan stands at second place with four points, followed by Japan and Bangladesh.

In pool-B, after the first round matches played on Thursday, Malaysian are the leaders with three points while South Koreans are second placed, also with three points, followed by Oman who due to a minor edge on goal difference has pushed China to the bottom place.

In the next match, Pakistan will face the challenge from arch-rival India on Sunday.

However, after the draw against Japan, Pakistan will need to beat India to top the pool. But in case of defeat at the hands of India, and Japan’s victory against Bangladesh by any big margin on Sunday, Pakistan may slip to third place.

Published in Dawn, October 14th, 2017