Moqi

Pakistan secured their first win in the Asian Champions Trophy with a resilient 2-1 victory over Japan at the Moqi Hockey Training Base in Hulun Buir on Wednesday. Ahmad Nadeem opened the scoring for Pakistan in the 10th minute with a well-executed field goal, set up by Ghazanfar Ali and Hannan Shahid. Sufyan Khan extended Pakistan’s lead to 2-0 in the 21st minute with a successful penalty corner. Japan’s only goal came in the 28th minute through a penalty corner by their captain, Raiki Fujishima, after an infringement by a Pakistani defender.

Pakistan started strong, demonstrating their determination with early attacking plays, but initially struggled to get past Japanese goalkeeper Takumi Kitagawa. Despite a couple of early draws of 2-2 against both Malaysia and Korea, Pakistan needed this win to stay in contention for the title, pushing them to second place in the pool standings with five points, just behind India.

The second half saw both teams intensify their efforts, with Pakistan making seven circle entries and Japan six. Japan earned multiple penalty corners, especially in the final quarter, but struggled to convert them due to Pakistan’s solid defense and goalkeeping by Abdullah Khan. Despite Japan’s dominant possession in the last six minutes, Pakistan held their ground and secured the three points with a composed defensive performance.