Asian Games champions Pakistan got off to a winning start in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup when they beat New Zealand 4-2, breaking a run of five defeats at the event since 2008.
The Pakistanis dominated the first half with two goals, the first coming in the third minute through Muhammad Rizwan senior while Syed Kashif Shah added the second in the 24th from a penalty corner rebound. In the 51st minute, Abdul Haseem Khan added the third goal from a field attempt after being put through by Shakeel Abbasi.
But New Zealand fought back and from their third penalty corner Andrew Hayward scored their first goal in the 59th minute. But the Kiwis allowed Pakistan to hit back two minutes later through Mohammad Umar Bhuta. By then, the game was effectively over but New Zealand managed to get another goal in the 63rd minute off a field attempt by Hugo Inglis.
“We have several young players and they performed well as this is their first time playing in such humid conditions,” said Pakistan team manager Khawaja Junaid.
Pakistan play the Koreans today while the Kiwis have two rest days before their match with South Korea on Sunday.
South Korea shock India
South Korea beat fellow defending champions India 3-2 in a stunning comeback from two goals down.
Both teams are defending the title after being declared joint champions when heavy rain caused play to be abandoned last year, and they showed their mettle in an exhilarating match of two very different halves.
India had the upper hand in the first half with early goals coming from Diwakar Ram and Danish Mujtaba. Ram struck from a penalty corner in the 20th minute while Majtaba scored with a reverse hit seven minutes later. The Koreans did not give up and pulled one back in the 31st minute through Cho Suk-Hoon from their third penalty corner.
In the second half, South Korea was the dominant team and had the Indians in sixes and sevens as they attacked the faltering defence with relative ease. Yoon Sung-Hoon put them level in the 41st minute and Jang Jung-Hyun grabbed the winner with a penalty-stroke conversion in the 56th.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 6th, 2011.
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