Pakistan down South Korea to take 3-0 unassailable lead in hockey series

Pakistan rallied from a halftime deficit to defeat South Korea 4-3 in the third match of their four-test men's hockey series on Tuesday, clinching their third successive victory and taking an unassailable lead in the series.

After falling behind in the opening half, Pakistan produced a dominant second-half display at the Naseer Bunda Hockey Stadium in Islamabad, scoring four field goals to overturn the deficit before holding off a late South Korean response.

South Korea made the brighter start and took a 1-0 lead in the 10th minute when Kim Hyung Jin converted a penalty corner. The visitors maintained their advantage through halftime after controlling much of the opening period.

Pakistan responded immediately after the break. Hayat Zakaria equalized in the 32nd minute before Rana Waheed Ashraf put the hosts ahead with a field goal in the 45th minute.

South Korea remained in the contest as Yang Ji Hoon converted another penalty corner in the 33rd minute, while Kim Yong Bok added a field goal in the 50th minute.

Pakistan finished strongly, with Abdul Rehman restoring the lead through a field goal in the 55th minute before Hannan Shahid struck two minutes later to complete a 4-3 victory.

Federal Ombudsman Naveed Kamran Baloch attended the match as chief guest and later received a commemorative shield from Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) President Mohyuddin Ahmed Wani during the post-match ceremony.

Also present were PHF Development Committee Chairman Olympian Hasan Sardar, selection committee chairman Olympian Samiullah Khan, Pakistan Sports Board Director General Yawar Hussain and other federation officials.

The match was supervised by Fahad Ali Khan and Haroon Rashid. Muhammad Sajid Raza served as reserve umpire, Haroon Asad Abbas as video umpire, Adnan Shehzad as scoring judge, Mehboob Javed as timing judge, Muhammad Waqas Khan as technical official, Muhammad Shafiq as technical delegate and Faiz Muhammad Faizi as umpire manager.

The fourth and final test between the two nations will be held on August 7 at the same venue.