Pakistan secured third place in the Asian Champions Trophy on Tuesday after staging a comeback against South Korea at the Moqi Hockey Training Base in China.
In a surprising turn of events, China defeated Pakistan in a penalty shootout to reach their first-ever Asian Champions Trophy final. The dramatic 2-0 shootout victory followed a 1-1 draw in regulation time, prompting jubilant scenes as China’s players celebrated with goalkeeper Caiyu Wang, who played a pivotal role in denying Pakistan a place in the final against India.
Read: China Advances to Final in Asian Hockey Champions Trophy After Deteating Pakistan
India advanced to the final, defeating South Korea 4-1 in the other semifinal. The final will be played later today.
In the third-place match, Pakistan initially fell behind but secured a 5-2 victory with two goals each from Sufyan Khan and Hannan Shahid. South Korea’s captain, Lee Jungjun, opened the scoring in the second quarter with a penalty corner, while Pakistan remained goalless in the first half.
Khan and Shahid turned the game around in the third quarter, scoring twice within a minute to take the lead, though Korea quickly equalized. Haroon then restored Pakistan’s lead with a fourth-quarter goal.
Khan and Shahid each scored again in the final quarter, securing Pakistan’s win. Sufyan’s performance, including two goals from penalty corners, earned him the Player of the Match award, finishing the tournament with four goals.
