Thursday 26 / December / 2024
Moqi: In a mega upset, China stunned Pakistan 2-0 in the shootout on Monday to enter the Final of the Asian Champions Trophy here at the Moqi Hockey Training Base in China.
It is the first time in the history of the tournament that the Chinese national team has made it to the final. While the second-highest number of title winners Pakistan will play for the Bronze medal against the loser of the second semifinal between India and Korea.
The Chinese goalkeeper Caiyu Wang was outstanding in his efforts to keep a clean slate 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 first semifinal of the day truly lived up to its billing, with China posing a mega threat to Pakistan's hopes of making the final right from the start. They were gritty in their pursuit, dominated the ball possession, and created early chances.
The 1-0 lead for China put Pakistan on the backfoot. China also came up with brilliant defence in the second quarter to stop Pakistan from scoring a Penalty Corner (PC). They had created as many as five PCs this quarter but could not breach the Chinese defence.
Ahead of the start of the match, China Head Coach Jin Seung Yoohas said his team was not going to be crushed by Pakistan, and his players did not disppoint him as they put up an inspired show. They 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.
They played a disciplined game, tackled Pakistani attackers with strong man-to-man marking to ensure they didn't create scoring opportunities. Though Pakistan made a handful of circle entries in the following minutes in the third and the fourth quarter, China restricted their shots on goal quite effectively to keep the scoreline at 1-1 stalemate.
