Pakistan booked their place in the semi-finals of the Men’s U18 Asia Cup 2025 after edging out China 2-1 in a closely contested encounter at the Dazhou National Hockey Training Centre.

The Green Shirts made an early breakthrough when Hassan Shahbaz netted a field goal in the 11th minute. Despite both sides earning two penalty corners each in a lively second quarter, the score remained unchanged at halftime.

Ali Hanzala doubled Pakistan’s lead late in the third quarter with another well-executed field goal. China quickly hit back through Jiaxing Lin, who converted a penalty corner to halve the deficit.

China pressed hard for an equaliser in the final stages, but goalkeeper Ghulam Mustafa produced a series of crucial saves to preserve Pakistan’s advantage and seal the win.

The result extended Pakistan’s unbeaten run in the tournament to four matches, leaving them top of Group A with 12 points and an impressive goal difference of +21, having scored 25 goals and conceded only four.

Earlier in the competition, Pakistan opened their campaign with an 8-0 demolition of Hong Kong, followed by a 9-0 win over Sri Lanka and a 6-3 victory against Bangladesh.

Pakistan will meet Malaysia in the semi-final on Friday at the same venue.

Pakistan 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.