KARACHI: Pakistan defeated Japan 4-2 in the semi-finals of the Junior Asia Cup 2024 in Muscat, Oman on Tuesday. Japan fought back well and leveled the scores twice.
Captain Hanan Shahid was the hero of the match as he opened Pakistan’s account during the second quarter. Hanan broke Japan’s defensive line with a brilliant performance. He single-handedly ran the ball from the half-line, dodged two defenders and then a third defender, and shot the ball over the “D”. The Japan goalkeeper was completely unable to stop the strike.
A few minutes before the end of the second quarter, Japan equalized. Later, Japan’s forwards repeatedly attacked the Pakistan goal post, but goalkeeper Muhammad Janjua showed excellent goalkeeping and stopped three open scoring chances when Pakistan’s defenders and midfielders were completely unable to stop Japan’s forwards. But failed.
In the third quarter, Basharat Ali scored Pakistan’s second goal on the rebound of a penalty corner. Japan counterattacked once again to level the score at 2-2. Hanan once again dominated the game and scored Pakistan’s third goal. Pakistan’s penalty corner specialist Sufyan Khan scored the fourth goal.