Asian Games 2018: Pakistan pulverise Oman for second straight 10-0 victory

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26
Pakistan's Ali Shan (C) and Oman's Mahmood Al Hasni (R) fight for the ball  — AFP
Pakistan's Ali Shan (C) and Oman's Mahmood Al Hasni (R) fight for the ball — AFP

Pakistan national hockey team on Wednesday registered their second straight 10-0 victory of the 2018 Asian Games, this time making Oman the victim of their freescoring start to the campaign.

The Green Shirts, who had also dealt a 10-0 shellacking to Thailand in their tournament opener, were unwilling to relent against their weak Pool B rivals.

It took them a little under two minutes to get off the mark for the game, with Mohammad Umar Bhutta being the scorer.

Ajaz Ahmad doubled the lead in the final minute of the opening period, but surprisingly the second period did not see a single goal.

With Pakistan sitting on a 2-0 lead at the end of the half, few would have bet on the final scoreline to go into double figures.

However, all hell broke lose in the third quarter, with the Rizwan Sr-led men breaching the Omani defence no less than five times to up the score a staggering 7-0 in their favour.

By the time the final whistle put the minnows out of their misery, Pakistan had scored thrice more.

Substitute Ali Shan was the hat-trick hero for Pakistan, while Muhammad Dilber and Muhammad Irfan netted a brace each.

Ajaz Ahmad, Muhammad Atiq and Bhutta all found the net once.

With that victory, Pakistan now have six points to their name but are second on the points table due to Malaysia's better goal difference.

Elsewhere, India were even more dominant in their game, crushing Hong Kong 26-0, which, when added to Pakistan's victories, highlights the massive gulf in quality between the competing sides.

Next up for Pakistan will be Kazakhstan; the two teams will clash on Friday.

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