Asian Hockey Champions Trophy: Pakistan clinch 5-1 win against hosts China

Moqi (China), Sep 12 (IANS) Pakistan continued to remain unbeaten in the tournament as they registered a well-earned 5-1 win against hosts China at the ongoing Asian Champions Trophy here at the Moqi Hockey Training Base in Hulunbuir.

With this win, Pakistan have moved up to the second spot in the points table. With another day's play remaining in the league stage, Pakistan continue to stay in contention for a spot in the semifinal.

Goals were scored by Rehman Abdul (23'), Ahmad Nadeem (36', 56') and Hannan Shahid (46', 60') in Pakistan's win while Jiesheng Gao (48') scored the lone goal for China.

At the end of day four at the prestigious event, India continues to lead the points table with Pakistan placed second, Korea is placed third while Malaysia have managed to squeeze past China after today's win.

Pakistan were a little sluggish with their attack in the opening quarter as they allowed China to make easy forays into their striking circle. The hosts, motivated by the home crowd support, made six circle entries and took four potential shots on goal in the opening minutes but could not beat the resilient Pakistan defence.

After the first quarter ended in a stalemate, Pakistan bounced back in the game with speed and vigour to create chances in the circle. They made as many as eight circle entries which resulted in them fetching the first PC of the match but could not convert from it. However, Abdul was successful in scoring a field goal in the 23rd minute to put Pakistan ahead by 1-0.

They further extended the lead to 2-0 in the 36th minute after Nadeem scored. Though they could have furthered the lead in this quarter when they were awarded a penalty stroke, Chinese goalie Weihao Wang was exceptional to make the save bringing great sigh of relief for home fans in the stadium.

Pakistan, however, did manage to convert a third goal when they won a PC in the 46th minute. It was a clever-variation with Abu Mahmood taking the dragflick only to find Hannan waiting in the corner of the post to find a perfect deflection.

There was no chance for Wang to stop this one as Pakistan extended their lead to a formidable 3-0. Two minutes later, China ensured their fans rejoiced as they scored through a PC in the 48th minute. Gao, who scored in China's opening goal in their match against Korea yesterday, was on-target.

The final moments of the match saw both teams trade PCs. Although neither converted from these opportunities, Pakistan scored twice through Nadeem and Hannan in the 56th and 60th minutes to end the match on a high, with 5-1 victory.

Hero of the Match, Hannan Shahid of Pakistan said, "It is a collective team efforts, we are learning by each match. We were conceding too many cards in the start of the tournament but today we conceded only one card. Hero of the team award is a result of my team's effort, they created chances for me to score and I am happy how we have progressed in the tournament."

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