Pakistan secured third place in the Asian Champions Trophy on Tuesday after the hockey side completed a comeback against South Korea at the Moqi Hockey Training Base in China.
In a stunning upset, hosts China floored Pakistan in a penalty shootout to reach their maiden Asian Champions Trophy final amid stirring scenes yesterday.
China’s 2-0 shootout victory after a 1-1 draw in regulation time, in front of a vibrant home crowd, saw their players swarm goalkeeper Caiyu Wang, who denied Pakistan’s efforts to reach the final against India on Tuesday.
India later thumped South Korea 4-1 in the other last-four clash and reached the final which would be later played today.
In the third-place tie, Pakistan initially trailed, however, two braces from Sufyan Khan and Hannan Shahid helped the team finish the tie 5-2.
The Korean side’s captain Lee Jungjun struck at the beginning of the second quarter via a penalty corner as Pakistan remained goalless in the first half of the match.
Khan and Shahid took the lead in the third quarter, scoring the first two goals for the side within a minute, however, the Koreans struck back and equalised immediately.
Haroon then scored the fourth goal of the quarter to restore Pakistan’s lead.
The pair, Khan and Shahid, scored again in the fourth quarter of the match to pull away from the Korean side.
Sufyan’s two goals from the penalty corners earned him the Player of the Match award, finishing the tournament with four goals.
