DAZHOU: Pakistan will take on Malaysia in the semi-finals of the U-18 Hockey Asia Cup on Friday (today).
In the final match of the group, the Green Shirts defeated hosts China 2-1 in a thrilling encounter to remain unbeaten.
The team had earlier won against Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Hong Kong. Pakistan is hopeful of reaching the final, the other semi-final will be played between Japan and Bangladesh.
Earlier, in a group match, Pakistan got the upper hand in the 11th minute of the game as forward Hassan Shahbaz scored a well-placed field goal.
Both Pakistan and China lost penalty corners twice, failing to convert them into goals till the interval of the game.
Ali Hanzala scored the second goal of the game for the green shirts in the third quarter, providing an edge to the visiting side.
Jiaxing Lin converted a penalty corner in the same minute to reduce the deficit to 2-1. The result left Pakistan at the top of Group A, having collected 12 points with a goal difference of +21.
Throughout their campaign, they scored 25 goals and conceded just four.
