LAHORE: Pakistan defeated Malaysia 3-0 in the third-place playoff to win bronze medal in the U-18 Asia Cup in Kakamigahara, Japan on Saturday.
Uzair Ahmed opened the scoring early in the match from a penalty corner. In the 23rd minute, Aisam Haider converted a penalty stroke to double the lead. Adeel sealed the win with Pakistan’s third and final goal in the closing moments of the game.
Pakistan kicked off their campaign with a resounding 3-0 victory over China before suffering a narrow 3-2 defeat at the hands of Malaysia.
The national team then registered a commanding 5-2 victory over Bangladesh to top the Group B standings and thus qualified for the semi-finals where they lost to arch-rivals India 5-3.
Meanwhile, India recorded a comprehensive 4-1 victory against Japan in the final to clinch their third title.
Ashish Tani Purti starred with a hat-trick scoring goals in the second, 28th and 34th minutes while captain Ketan Kushwaha (30th minute) also found the back of the net. Numada Gaku (52nd minute) scored for Japan.-Sports Reporter