Pakistan beat China to keep semifinal hopes alive in Asian Champions Trohy
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Pakistan Monday registered their first victory of Hockey’s Asian Champions Trophy as they defeated China 2-1 to keep their semifinal hopes alive.
China showed glimpses of quality but in the end it has been too much for them and were eliminated from the tournament.
In a must-win game, Pakistani boys showed great potential by tackling an early charge by China in the first quarter which remained goalless.
In the 20th minute, Pakistan's Sufiyan Khan made the most of a penalty corner and struck the first goal of the match.
China found their feet back in the game after Jiesheng Gao scored at the start of the third quarter. He netted the ball in the 33rd minute to equal the scoreline.
Six minutes later, Afraz struck another goal for Pakistan, making the scoreline 2-1.
Thereafter, no other goal was scored till the end and Pakistan registered their first win in the tournament.
Pakistan will now meet arch-rivals India in their last match on August 9. If they win that match, they will qualify for the semi-finals.