Pakistan beats south korea for second straight Azlan shah win

Pakistan's Shakeel Abbasi vies for the ball in the match against South Korea. —Photo courtesy Azlan Shah Cup

KARACHI: Pakistan showed their credentials as one of dark horses at the Azlan Shah Cup by defeating a strong South Korean side on Friday.
In their second match of the tournament, Pakistan came back from a goal down to register a 4-2 win over their Asian Games semi-final rivals.
South Korea dominated the opening moments of the match, as Jang Jong Hyun sent a defence-splitting pass but Kim Young Jin failed to convert it. The move was enough to awaken Pakistan, who started to string together passes into the Korean half.
Pakistan had their first chance in the sixth minute, but Muhammad Zubair’s cross to Muhammad Umar Bhutta did not achieve the desired outcome.
Korea earned their first penalty corner in the 12th minute but failed to score. However, their second corner, which came a minute later, was met with success as Hyun Hya-sung converted to give his side a 1-0 lead.
Pakistan were unable to hold back the Korean attack following the goal, as they made several basic errors in their tactics.
The first penalty corner for the green shirts came in the 18th minute, which was followed by another a minute later but both remained unsuccessful as captain Muhammad Imran failed to score.
Veteran striker Rehan Butt brought Pakistan their first goal in the 21st minute from open play to make the score 1-1, which remained unchanged until half-time.
Ten minutes into the second half, South Korea earned two penalty corners in the space of a minute, the second of which was converted by Sung for his second goal of the match.
With ten minutes to go until full time, Pakistan launched a series of attacks in the Korean half but were unable to get a clear shot on goal. It was left up to penalty corner maestro Sohail Abbas to bring his side level as he convert in the 61st minute.
Two minutes later, Abdul Haseem Khan slotted home to give Pakistan a 3-2 lead and a chance of scoring yet another win over their Asian rivals. Pakistan’s attack remained relentless in the dying moments of the match and a goal from Waqas Akbar from the team’s fourth penalty corner sealed the win for the Asian Games champions in the last minute.
Pakistan will play Great Britain in their third match on Sunday

Australia favourite but pakistan could surprise at Azlan shah

Pakistan will open their Azlan Shah Cup campaign against New Zealand on Thursday. - File photo by AP Pakistan will open their Azlan Shah Cup campaign against New Zealand on Thursday. - File photo by AP

IPOH: World champions Australia are tipped to make a strong impression at the seven-nation Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in Malaysia despite fielding a new-look side as teams build towards the London Olympics.
Australia, winners of last year’s World Cup in India, are joined in the tournament at Ipoh’s Azlan Shah Stadium by Britain, South Korea, New Zealand, Pakistan, India and host nation Malaysia.
India, South Korea and Malaysia are making plans for next year’s Olympic qualifiers while the other four teams have already secured their berths for London.
Pakistan, surprise gold medallists at last year’s Asian Games, have named several veterans as they prepare for London.
Pakistan team manager K.M. Junaid said the team was a blend of young and experienced players and they could mount a strong challenge at the Ipoh tournament. “I am confident of my team doing well,” he said.
The Pakistanis are coached by Dutch coach Michel van den Heuvel.
Pakistan play New Zealand in the opening match Thursday followed by South Korea against India.
The Australian team is almost unrecognisable from the side that won gold at last year’s Commonwealth Games in New Delhi due to unavailability and injuries but team bosses are not worried about the make-up of the side.
“Depth in your squad is important for any team that wants to be successful because there will always be situations where players are unavailable for various reasons, as has happened at this tournament to us,” said Ric Charlesworth, Australian chief coach.
“It’s important that players can step in and not feel out of place and know all of the team structures and game plan.”
World number one side Australia and India are the most successful teams in Sultan Azlan Shah Cup history with five titles each.
The Indians also have a depleted side with six senior players left out but chief coach Harinder Singh said it would allow him to try out new players.
“Our focus is the Olympic qualifiers, which we will host next year. We need new faces as well to provide a challenge for the seniors.”
Britain then open their campaign against hosts Malaysia