HULUNBUIR: Pakistan’s Asian Hockey Champions Trophy campaign got off to a stuttering start as they squandered a two-goal lead, allowing Malaysia to snatch a 2-2 draw at the Moqi Hockey Training Base in Hulunbuir, China, on Sunday.

Sufyan Khan and Nadeem Ahmed had put Pakistan in the driving set but a late surge from Malaysia saw them claw back to level terms. Faizal Saari strike from the penalty corner halved the deficit before Aiman Rozemi scored deep in the fourth quarter to snatch a point.

Pakistan’s players missed several scoring opportunities, including over six penalty corners. Despite this, captain Imran Shaikh Butt was named player-of-the-match.

In other matches, India cruised past hosts China 3-0, courtesy of Sukhjeet Singh, Uttam Singh and Abhishek’s clinical finishes.

Meanwhile, South Korea and Japan played out a thrilling 5-5 draw, with Jihun Yang’s hat-trick leading the Koreans, while Naru Kimura and Kazumasa Matsumoto scored for Japan.

Pakistan will face South Korea on Sept 9, followed by matches against Japan, China and arch-rivals India on Sept 14.

Pakistan lead the head-to-head record with 82 wins to India’s 66, although India has triumphed in 14 of the last 16 encounters. The tournament follows a round-robin format, with the top four teams advancing to the semi-finals.

Published in Dawn, September 9th, 2024