Pakistan win hockey gold after 20 years

Pakistan win the Asian Games men’s hockey gold medal after 20 years with a convincing 2-0 win over Malaysia in the final.Veteran Sohail Abbas put Pakistan ahead with his team’s first penalty corner in the 26th minute, before striker Rehan Butt increased the margin three minutes after half-time.

It was Pakistan’s eighth Asian hockey gold, ending a drought that stretched back to Beijing in 1990, and handed them their first major title since winning the World Cup in Sydney in 1994.Pakistan ended the year on a high after a disappointing eight-month period in which they finished a humiliating last at the World Cup in March and took sixth place at the Commonwealth Games in October.The Pakistanis kneeled in prayer after the final whistle, before lifting their Dutch coach Michel van den Heuvel over their shoulders to loud applause from the stands.