Pakistan Beat China 3-0 to Complete Hat-Trick of Victories at Asian Games

Sports Desk 

NAGOYA: Captain Abubakar Mahmood, Hannan Shahid and Sufyan Khan each struck one goal apiece to help Pakistan secure a comfortable 3-0 victory over China in the Pool B match of the Asian Games 2026 men's hockey competition here at the Kawasaki Juko Stadium on Thursday.

The recently concluded fixture got off to a quiet start as neither team could open the scoring in the first quarter.

Pakistan eventually pulled ahead at the 19th-minute mark when skipper Mahmood successfully converted a penalty corner. Sufyan doubled the Green Shirts' advantage five minutes later, scoring in a similar fashion.

Shahid further bolstered Pakistan's dominance in the pulsating second quarter by scoring a sensational field goal in the 28th minute.

The triple strike helped Pakistan go into halftime with a three-goal lead in their favour, and although Zikriya Hayat was shown a green card in the penultimate quarter, they managed to hold on to their advantage until the final whistle as China could not score a single goal.

The 3-0 victory marked Pakistan's third consecutive win in the men's field hockey competition at the Asian Games. The national team started their campaign with a 9-0 routing of Thailand before inflicting a 5-1 defeat on Uzbekistan in their subsequent league-stage fixture.

Furthermore, the hat-trick of victories consolidated Pakistan's second position in the Pool B standings with nine points and a positive goal difference of 16. The Green Shirts only trail leaders Malaysia on goal difference (24), who also have nine points after their respective first three games.

Pakistan next face Malaysia in their penultimate league-stage fixture, which would be crucial in determining which team secure the summit position, and will be played at the same venue on Saturday.