Pakistan remained winless in the ongoing Hockey Asian Champions Trophy after being held to a 1-1 draw by defending champions South Korea at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Hockey Stadium here on Friday. Pakistan had lost 1-3 against Malaysia in their opening match on Thursday.
While Abdul Shahid opened the scoring for the Men in Green in the ninth minute, Jihun Yang pulled back the equaliser for the Koreans from a penalty stroke in the 53rd minute. Before the start of the encounter, Pakistan skipper Umar Bhutta was felicitated by Hockey India for featuring in his 200th international match.
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The opening quarter saw a quiet start from both the sides as they tried to penetrate each other’s circle and create chances but failed to convert the opportunities that came their way into goals. It was not until the second quarter that the breakthrough arrived, with Shahid deflecting the ball in following a pass towards him.
Bhutta was sent off the field with a green card in the 20th minute, while his side maintained the 1-0 lead at the half-time break. The restart saw no change in the tempo of the game as both the sides looked to gain possession, besides earning penalty corners as well but to no avail.
The third quarter witnessed a player from Korea being substituted for injury, while there were no goals conceded by either side in this 15 minutes. In the final quarter, Korea tried to up the ante and indulged in some physical play, leading to a couple of injury breaks.
While Pakistan’s Aqeel Ahmad saw the green card in the 48th minute, Korea’s Park saw the same colour three minutes later. Eventually, after a corner in the 52nd minute, Pakistan conceded a penalty stroke in the follow-through, as Yang successfully converted it to draw level for Korea.
Both the teams pressed on the accelerator and created great chances, including some corners, but to no avail. Ultimately, the two teams shared the honours with a 1-1 draw. While Korea will play China next, Pakistan will face Japan.
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