Shakeel Abassi scored two second-half goals to give Pakistan a 2-1 win over Olympic gold medalist Germany in Thursday’s quarterfinals at the men’s field hockey Champions Trophy, and India also advanced with a 1-0 win over Belgium.
Pakistan will next play the Netherlands, which beat New Zealand 2-0. In Saturday’s other semifinal match, India will play four-time defending champion Australia, which beat England 2—0 in the last match of the day on goals by veteran Jamie Dwyer and Chris Ciriello.
Nithin Thimmaiah’s goal in the 13th minute gave India its win over Belgium.
New Zealand started strongly in its quarterfinal match, earning a penalty corner in the first minute, but the Dutch were quick to work their way back into the game.
Jeroen Hertzberger gave the Netherlands a 1-0 lead in the 13th with a clear strike on a penalty corner. But the New Zealand defense worked hard to limit the damage, aided by some strong work from rookie goalkeeper Hamish McGregor.
The Dutch went into the halftime break without adding to their score, despite dominating possession and managing four shots on goal to New Zealand’s none. Billy Bakker gave the Netherlands a 2-0 lead early in the second half, providing a fitting finish to Sander de Wun’s strong run down the right side.
New Zealand striker Phil Burrows said the Dutch side’s ability to retain possession proved difficult.
“They made us chase a lot of balls, especially towards the end,” Burrows said. “They’re a class act.”
