Pakistan opened their four-match hockey Test series against South Korea with a 3-1 win at the Naseer Bunda Hockey Stadium, taking the lead in a contest that carries more weight than the scoreline suggests.
Sufyan Khan was the difference. He converted a penalty corner to put Pakistan ahead, and completed his brace in the 36th minute with another from the same source. Captain Abu Bakar Mahmood added a field goal, while Ji Hun Yang scored South Korea's only reply.
Pakistan went into the interval 2-1 ahead, and Sufyan's second after the restart gave them the cushion they needed. The margin was never seriously threatened thereafter.
The occasion mattered as much as the result. The series, sanctioned by the International Hockey Federation, is Pakistan's first home assignment against a visiting side since 2004 — more than two decades in which the national team played its international hockey almost entirely abroad.
Spectators returned to a stadium that has waited a long time for a fixture of this kind, and the series doubles as preparation for next month's World Cup, giving the squad competitive hockey at home before it travels.
The second Test is scheduled for Saturday at the same venue, with two further matches to follow.
