In a massive upset, China stunned Pakistan 2-0 in a shootout to enter the Asian Champions Trophy final at the Moqi Hockey Training Base in Hulunbuir, China on Monday.
This is the first time in the history of the tournament that the Chinese hockey team has made it to the title round.
Chinese goalkeeper Caiyu Wang was the hero of the match for China, as he denied all of Pakistan’s attempts in the shootout, while Benhai Chen and Chanliang Lin scored for China. Earlier in the match, Yuanlin Lu had given China an early 1-0 lead in the 18th minute.
The game ended in a 1-1 draw in the stipulated time, after which the winner was decided on the penalty shootout.
Despite losing the pool match 5-1 against Pakistan, China looked well in control of the semi-final, dominated the ball possession and created early chances.
After a 0-0 stalemate in the opening quarter, China scored in the 18th minute through Yuanlin Lu’s powerful drag flick to convert from the PC. The 1-0 lead for China put Pakistan on the backfoot. China also came up with brilliant defending in the second quarter to stop Pakistan from scoring a PC. They had created as many as five PCs this quarter but could not breach Chinese defence.
The home side punctured Pakistan’s attack and kept the pressure on through tactful defending. Though Pakistan mustered a goal in the 37th minute through Ahmed Nadeem, China ensured they didn’t concede another goal.
Pakistan ended their Asian Hockey Champions Trophy after having defeated China (5-1) and Japan (2-1), before two consecutive drawn games against Malaysia (2-2) and Korea (2-2).
In the last pool match, India had defeated Pakistan 2-1.
The article, originally published September 16, 2024, was updated on September 17, 2024 to rectify an error. Pakistan drew matches against Malaysia and Korea, which were originally written as losses. The error is regretted, and has been rectified.
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