HULUNBUIR: Pakistan had conjured up an improbable fightback only to be floored by a late leveller by South Korea as they were held to a 2-2 draw in an enthralling Asian Champions Trophy clash at the Moqi Hockey Stadium on Monday.

In a frenetic close to the game, three goals were scored in the final minute; Pakistan coming from 1-0 down to lead 2-1 after Hannan Shahid’s double before the Koreans levelled with just four seconds remaining to salvage a point.

The draw means Pakistan are unbeaten but winless so far in the tournament, having opened with a 2-2 draw against Malaysia on Sunday.

“We’re glad we were able to earn a point and not lose three,” Hannan said after the match. “It was disappointing to not end up on the winning side. We made a sloppy start and made too many errors. We will look at what cost us today and come back stronger [in our next match] against Japan [on Wednesday].”

The opening quarter saw a flurry of chances being created by Pakistan. Hannan and Ah­mad Ajaz, who made his 100th international appearance, were the cynosure of Pak­istani attack with as many as seven circle entries created in the opening minutes of the game.

They were quick with their passes, and effective in making space but were fairly off target with shots on goal. With just five seconds left for the first quarter to end, Hannan made a skillful circle penetration and took a fine shot on goal, raising the hope of Pakistani supporters in the stadium, only to be blocked away by Korean goalie Jaehan Kim.

While Pakistan dominated with the ball possession in the first quarter, Korea played an improvised second quarter with better ball possession. Though they made fewer circle penetrations compared to their opponents, they were successful in setting up a fine goal in the 16th minute through Jiwang Hyun. He was well-assisted by Hyeseung Lee who picked up a good aerial ball to make a clever pass to Jiwang in front of the goal post.

Pakistan’s frustration carried into the third quarter with their forwards creating umpteen chances but none making its way to the goal. They even won two penalty corners but were unable to make the most of it with the Koreans being compact.

But just as it seemed all was lost, Hannan pumped in two incredible goals only for a green card to Sufyan Khan in the dying seconds allowing Korea’s Sunghyun Kim to get the equaliser.

India top the round-robin stan­dings with a maximum of six points after they extended their perfect record with a 5-1 trouncing of Japan. Sukhjeet Singh scored twice for India, opening and book­ending the scoring, with Abhishek, Sanjay and Uttam Singh also on the secoresheet for the Paris Olympics bronze medallists.

Japan, who have just one point after two games, had made it 3-1 thanks to Matsumoto Kazumasa’s goal in the 41st after India had scored through Sukhjeet, Abishek and Sanjay in the opening 17 minutes but their hopes of a comeback was thwarted by strikes from Uttam and Sukhjeet.

China, who lost to India in their opening game, are second on the points table with three points — one ahead of Pakistan and Korea — after a 4-2 win over Malaysia in the day’s final game.

Both sides traded goals in the first quarter with Malaysia’s Azrai Abu Kamal cancelling Gao Jiesheng’s opener for the hosts. Gao added his second with a drag-flick in the 32nd before Lin Changliang doubled China’s advantage. Faizal Saari pulled one back for the Malaysians in the 50th before Chao Jieming sealed the points for the Chinese with a goal six minutes later.

Published in Dawn, September 10th, 2024