After defeating China, Pakistan advanced to the U18 Asia Cup Hockey 2025 semifinals.

After defeating hosts China 2-1 in their last group match at the Dazhou National Hockey Training Centre, Pakistan advanced to the Men’s U18 Asia Cup 2025 semi-finals.

With 12 points from four games and a goal differential of +21, the national team finished the group stage at the top of Group A, continuing their winning streak.

In a fiercely contested match, the Green Shirts took the lead early in the eleventh minute when forward Hassan Shahbaz scored a field goal to put Pakistan ahead.

Due to strong defense and missed opportunities on both ends, the scoreline stayed the same at halftime despite a flurry of activity in the second quarter, which saw both teams earn two penalty corners each.

Late in the third quarter, Ali Hanzala broke the tie once more with another skillful field goal that doubled Pakistan’s lead. But almost immediately after, the home team rallied, and Jiaxing Lin converted a penalty corner to cut the deficit.

In the last quarter, China put up a lot of pressure in an attempt to tie the score, but Pakistan’s goalie Ghulam Mustafa held his own and made crucial saves to keep the lead.

With the victory, Pakistan has now won four straight tournament matches, including their opening 8-0 victory over Hong Kong, their 9-0 thumping of Sri Lanka, and their 6-3 victory over Bangladesh.

During the group stage, the national team has scored 25 goals and given up just four goals.

The semi-final match between Pakistan and Malaysia will now take place at the same location on Friday.

Squad: Mohammad Usman, Atif Ali, Asam Junaid, Mohammad Abdullah Farooq, Abdullah Awan, Zubair Lateef, Mohammad Yaseen, Mohammad Ali Taj, Ghulam Mustafa, Ali Hamza, Ali Hanzala, Aamir Sohail, Adeel Afzal, Mohammad Zaman, Mohammad Hussain, Mohammad Shaheer, Hasan Shahbaz, Yaseen Jamshaid

Team leadership: Mukhtar Ahmed, Touseeq Ahmed, Masood-ur-Rahman (coaches), and Shafqat Malik (manager)