Pakistan

Former champion Pakistan made a heavy weather of its match against minnows Chile before beating it 2-1 to book a berth in the second round of the Junior World Cup at the Rotterdam Hockey Club here on Thursday.

Pakistan now has six points from two matches and become the first Asian nation to proceed to the next round. Yesterday it had beaten Belgium 3-1.

The Asian nation scored both there goals in the first half and led 2-0 at the breather. Yasir Islam (32nd) and Muhammad Imran (34th) were the scorers.

After Australia had thrashed Chile 12-0, Pakistan should have had an easy outing with scores looking at double figures. But Pakistan struggled in the frontline and the midfield and towards the end of the match were fending off Chilean forwards as the South American nation managed to score in the 49th minute.

Meanwhile, South Korea produced the first big upset of the tournament beating the No. 1 seed and the hot favourite for the title, Spain 3-1 in a Pool A match. Korea's win gives it six points after two wins and also sends it into the second round.

For Korea, penalty corner specialist, Jang Jong Hyun scored twice in the 28th and 52nd minute. Kim Young Jin wrapped it up.

The results: Australia 7 bt Belgium 1; England 12 bt Mexico 0; Pakistan 2 bt Chile 1; South Korea 3 bt Spain 1.

Wednesday's results: Netherlands 6 bt Poland 0; Spain 1 bt England 0; Malaysia 4 bt South Africa 1. — Age

Rate This Article

Select Here  5 Stars  (Best Rating)   4 Stars   3 Stars   2 Stars   1 Star  (Worst Rating)

Your opinion counts.
Rate this article or enter your comments below.