Guangdong Tour Dates Have Moved: Pakistan Navy Are Next on Friday, Customs Now Sunday in Lahore

If you had Friday in Lahore circled for the Guangdong game, cross it out. The tour has shifted, and the Chinese side aren’t in Lahore this week at all.

Guangdong arrived on Monday for a 13-day tour, a week later than the original schedule, and the fixture list has moved with them. Two matches are already in the books. Mari Energies beat them 5-2 in Rawalpindi on Tuesday, and on Wednesday Pakistan Army held them 1-1 in Islamabad before Guangdong took the shoot-out 4-2, Chen Nanzhen’s penalty stroke and a late Army corner doing the scoring in normal time.

Today is a rest day. Here’s what the rest of the tour actually looks like now.

The revised run-in

Friday 23 October is Pakistan Navy, not Customs, and it’s in Islamabad at the Naseer Bunda Hockey Stadium, the same ground as the Army game. The Lahore leg comes at the weekend: Pakistan Customs at the DHA Hockey Stadium on Sunday 25 October.

After that the tour heads out of the big cities. Pakistan Rangers in Narowal on Monday 26 October, a Pakistan Under-18 side in Gojra on Wednesday 28 October, and Pakistan Police back at the DHA in Lahore on Thursday 29 October to finish. The team flies home on 30 October.

One thing hasn’t changed, and it’s worth repeating because it keeps getting lost: Guangdong are China’s provincial team, not the national side. These are departmental tests against Pakistan’s service and company teams, and judged that way the tour has been competitive. A 5-2 loss, then a shoot-out win over the Army. That’s a proper contest, not a walkover in either direction.

What to watch on Friday

Navy get a Guangdong side playing their third game in four days, which cuts both ways. Tired legs, sure, but also a team that has now had two hard matches to find its combinations, while Navy come in cold. The Army game showed Guangdong can defend a lead and hold their nerve in a shoot-out. It also showed they can be got at from corners late on.

No start time has been announced for Friday’s match. When it is, we’ll update the Live Centre.

Revised Guangdong tour fixtures: Fri 23 Oct v Pakistan Navy (Naseer Bunda, Islamabad) · Sun 25 Oct v Pakistan Customs (DHA, Lahore) · Mon 26 Oct v Pakistan Rangers (Narowal) · Wed 28 Oct v Pakistan U-18 (Gojra) · Thu 29 Oct v Pakistan Police (DHA, Lahore).

The Army game in full: Guangdong beat Pakistan Army on a shoot-out. Friday’s other big game is in Johor: Japan must win, a draw sends Pakistan through.