LAHORE - Pakistan crushed South Africa 6-2 to qualify for the quarter-finals in the International Hockey Federation (FIH) World Hockey League played in Malaysia on Tuesday.
According to information made available here, Pakistan will now face South Korea in the semi-finals. M Zubair made first breakthrough scoring goal in the 13th minute and just after four minutes Shafqat Rasool double the lead. South Africa reduced the lead in the 25th minute but two minutes later Abdul Haseem Khan deflected the ball into net and Pakistan were leading 3-1 when the first half ended.
Six minutes after the second half began, Haseem Khan made his second goal to strengthen Pakistan lead to 4-1.
In the 60th minute, Haseem completed his hat-trick and three minutes later Zubair scored his second goal to take Pakistan to a formidable position at 6-1. However, South Africa reduced the margin to 6-2 two minutes before the end of the match.  In Butt, who was also injured mid-way through the match, Pakistan have found a solid replacement for Salman Akbar and is living up to the legacy his brother Rehan Butt has left in the team. The result means Pakistan topped Group ‘B’ and will now face Korea in the quarterfinal stage on July 4 (16:15 PST), their first real test of the tournament.
Quarterfinal lineup (July 4):
Argentina v South Africa
England v Japan
Pakistan v Korea (16:15 PST)
Germany v Malaysia.