Category: Hockey

KUALA LUMPUR: The Pakistan hockey team registered a comeback draw against Belgium at Malaysia National Hockey Stadium to qualify for the quarter-final match of the ongoing Junior World Cup.

Belgium gained an early advantage with the first goal in the third minute to put the Pakistan team under pressure.

However, the Pakistan team made a resounding comeback in the third quarter with Arbaz Ahmad scoring from the penalty corner to level the scores.

Both teams battled hard to get the lead, but could not succeed as the scoreboard read 1-1 until the final whistle.

Pakistan will play their Junior Hockey World Cup quarter-final match against Spain.

The Pakistan hockey team kicked off their Junior World Cup campaign with an impressive draw against the Netherlands 3-3 on December 06.

The Netherlands started the game on high with two field goals in the 21st and 30th minutes to end the first half with a massive advantage over Pakistan.

Pakistan then decreased the deficit by one goal in the third quarter courtesy of midfielder Arshad Liaqat’s field goal to bring the scores down to 2-1.

The Green Shirts then earned a penalty in the 36th minute of the third quarter, which was successfully converted by Sufian Khan to level the scores.

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However, the Netherlands did not slow down and took the lead again in the 47th minute with a field goal by Olivier Hortensius.

Their lead did not last long as Pakistan’s Arbaz Ahmed helped his side level the scores with an equalizing penalty corner.

Pakistan team followed the first match draw with a thumping 4-0 victory over New Zealand courtesy of Arshad Liaqat’s hat-trick in the next match.

Pakistan started the game on high and earned an early advantage with a 19th-minute goal by Liaqat, who extended the lead further in the 30th minute.

Pakistan captain Abdul Hanan Shahid then scored their third goal two minutes later with a goal from a penalty corner.

Liaqat got on the scoresheet and completed his hat-trick in the 54th minute to keep the Green shirts in a commanding position until the final whistle.

Pakistan won the inaugural Junior World Cup in 1979 and then claimed bronze medals in the next three editions before getting a silver in the 1993 edition.

They have not been able to win any medal in the Junior World Cup since 1993 and finished at their lowest 11th position in the 2021 edition in Bhubaneswar, India.

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KUALA LUMPUR: The Pakistan hockey team registered a thumping 4-0 victory over New Zealand courtesy of Arshad Liaqat’s hat-trick in their second match in the ongoing Junior World Cup at Malaysia National Hockey Stadium.

Pakistan started the game on high and earned an early advantage with a 19th-minute goal by Liaqat, who extended the lead further in the 30th minute.

Pakistan captain Abdul Hanan Shahid then scored their third goal two minutes later with a goal from a penalty corner.

Liaqat got on the scoresheet and completed his hat-trick in the 54th minute to keep the Green shirts in a commanding position until the final whistle.

Pakistan will play their next Junior Hockey World Cup match against Belgium on 9th December.

Yesterday, the Pakistan hockey team kicked off their Junior World Cup campaign with an impressive draw against the Netherlands 3-3.

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The Netherlands started the game on high with two field goals in the 21st and 30th minutes by Boris Aardenburg and Casper van der Veen respectively to end the first half with a massive advantage over Pakistan.

Pakistan then decreased the deficit by one goal in the third quarter courtesy of midfielder Arshad Liaqat’s field goal to bring the scores down to 2-1.

The Green Shirts then earned a penalty in the 36th minute of the third quarter, which was successfully converted by Sufian Khan to level the scores.

However, the Netherlands did not slow down and took the lead again in the 47th minute with a field goal by Olivier Hortensius.

Their lead did not last long as Pakistan’s Arbaz Ahmed helped his side level the scores with an equalizing penalty corner.

Pakistan won the inaugural Junior World Cup in 1979 and then claimed bronze medals in the next three editions before getting a silver in the 1993 edition.

They have not been able to win any medal in the Junior World Cup since 1993 and finished at their lowest 11th position in the 2021 edition in Bhubaneswar, India.

READ: Prime Minister’s XI trail by 242 runs after Shan Masood’s double ton

KUALA LUMPUR: The Pakistan hockey team kicked off their Junior World Cup campaign with an impressive draw against the Netherlands 3-3 on Wednesday at Malaysia National Hockey Stadium.

The Netherlands started the game on high with two field goals in the 21st and 30th minutes by Boris Aardenburg and Casper van der Veen respectively to end the first half with a massive advantage over Pakistan.

Pakistan then decreased the deficit by one goal in the third quarter courtesy of midfielder Arshad Liaqat’s field goal to bring the scores down to 2-1.

The Green Shirts then earned a penalty in the 36th minute of the third quarter, which was successfully converted by Sufian Khan to level the scores.

Follow us on our Official WhatsApp channel

However, the Netherlands did not slow down and took the lead again in the 47th minute with a field goal by Olivier Hortensius.

Their lead did not last long as Pakistan’s Arbaz Ahmed helped his side level the scores with an equalizing penalty corner.

Pakistan will play their next Junior Hockey World Cup match against New Zealand tomorrow and then against Belgium on 9th December.

Pakistan won the inaugural Junior World Cup in 1979 and then claimed bronze medals in the next three editions before getting a silver in the 1993 edition.

They have not been able to win any medal in the Junior World Cup since 1993 and finished at their lowest 11th position in the 2021 edition in Bhubaneswar, India.

READ: Shan Masood’s 156* keeps Pakistan in command on first day against Prime Minister’s XI

The International Hockey Federation (FIH) has announced that the men’s FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifiers for the Paris Summer Olympics 2024, which is scheduled to take place from January 15 to 21, is shifted from Pakistan to Oman.

The hosting rights of Hockey Olympic Qualifiers were taken away from Pakistan considering the recent suspensions of several Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) officials by the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) in August. Moreover, PSB has also mandated fresh unbiased elections to be held within PHF.

Meanwhile, the other men’s qualifying tournaments of the Paris Olympics, which were scheduled to take place in Lahore will now be hosted by Valencia, Spain and Muscat, Oman.

A total of eight teams will feature in each of the Paris 2024 hockey qualifying tournaments, and the top three teams will qualify for the Paris 2024 Games, making a total of 12 teams per gender.

The seedings for the Olympic qualifiers will be finalized after the conclusion of all continental championships in 2023, moreover, the champions of these continental championships will directly qualify for Paris Olympics 2024.

The Netherlands and Australia have already booked their place for next year’s Summer Olympics after winning the EuroHockey Championship 2023 and the Oceania Cup respectively.

Meanwhile, one of the two women’s qualifying tournaments will be also hosted by Valencia and the other will take place in Changzhou, China. The women’s hockey qualifiers for the Paris Olympics will also follow the same format as the men’s qualifiers.

The hockey competition at the Paris Olympics 2024 will take place from July 27 to August 9, 2024, at Yves-du-Manoir stadium.

READ: Virender Sehwag wants ‘Afghanistan to upset Pakistan’

HANGZHOU: Pakistan men’s hockey team crashed out of the Asian Games 2023 medal race following a 3-2 defeat against Japan on Monday.

Japan needed to win the all-important clash to book their place in the semi-final of the Asian Games 2023 Hockey event while the Green Shirts only needed to avoid a defeat.

However, the result came out in Japan’s favour as they edged Pakistan 3-2 and made it to the final four.

Pakistan got off to a flying start as they opened their account just five minutes into the game through Arshad Liaquat only for Japan to hit two goals in response in the sixth and 17th minutes via Tanaka Kaito and Fukuda Kentaro, respectively and took the lead.

Fujishima Raiki then enhanced Japan’s lead to 3-1 in the 28th minute but Pakistan cut their lead soon after through Arbaz Ahmad.

Both sides threatened to score more goals in the final quarter of the sea-saw contest but the scoreboard remained intact at 3-2 till the final whistle in Japan’s favour.

A narrow defeat against Japan meant Pakistan have now crashed out of the Asian Games 2023 medal race and will compete against a third-placed side from Pool B for the fifth and sixth position on October 6.

Earlier in the tournament, Pakistan hockey team suffered a 10-2 thrashing at the hands of arch-rivals India on Saturday.

India had a flying start to the match as they took a dominant 2-0 lead over Pakistan in the first quarter, courtesy of Harmanpreet Singh and Mandeep Singh, who scored one each.

The men in blue then doubled their lead in the second quarter and attained the complete command of the highly-anticipated match.

Pakistan finally showed some resistance in the third quarter as they managed to pull two back but it was insufficient as India still managed to further extend their lead by scoring three.

India then enjoyed another dominant quarter as they scored three more in the fourth to finish the match with a scoreline of 10-2, one of their largest victories against Pakistan.

Harmanpreet Singh was the star for India, scoring four, followed by Varun Kumar, who scored two while Mandeep Singh, Sumit, Shamsher Singh and Lalit Kumar Upadhyay scored one each.

For Pakistan, Mohammad Sufyan Khan and Waheed Rana Ashraf could score one apiece.

READ: Pakistan crush West Indies to win inaugural Over 40s Global Cup

HANGZHOU: Arch-rivals India handed a 10-2 thrashing to Pakistan on Saturday in the hockey event of the ongoing Asian Games 2023.

India had a flying start to the match as they took a dominant 2-0 lead over Pakistan in the first quarter, courtesy of Harmanpreet Singh and Mandeep Singh, who scored one each.

The men in blue then doubled their lead in the second quarter and attained the complete command of the highly-anticipated match.

Pakistan finally showed some resistance in the third quarter as they managed to pull two back but it was insufficient as India still managed to further extend their lead by scoring three.

India then enjoyed another dominant quarter as they scored three more in the fourth to finish the match with a scoreline of 10-2, one of their largest victories against Pakistan.

Harmanpreet Singh was the star for India, scoring four, followed by Varun Kumar, who scored two while Mandeep Singh, Sumit, Shamsher Singh and Lalit Kumar Upadhyay scored one each.

For Pakistan, Mohammad Sufyan Khan and Waheed Rana Ashraf could score one apiece.

Pakistan will now take on Japan on October 2 in a bid to make it to the semi-finals of the Asian Games 2023.

A draw against Japan would propel Pakistan into the final four whereas, for Japan, it would be a must-win game.

Pakistan Squad for Asian Games 2023:

Goalkeepers: Akmal Hussain, Abdullah Ishtiyaq Khan, Waqar, Ali Raza, and Abdullah Sheikh.

Defenders: Mohammad Abdullah, Arbaz Ahmad, Mohammad Sufyan Khan, Aqeel Ahmed, and Mohammad Bilal Aslam.

Midfielders: Usama Bashir, Mohammad Murtaza Yaqoob, Arbaz Ayaz, Ahtisham Aslam, Mohammad Baqar, Mohammad Nadeem Khan, Mohammad Imran and Syed Shehbaz Haider.

Forwards: Mohammad Imad, Afraz, Roman, Arshad Liaquat, Abdul Qayyum, Abdul Rehman (Wapda), Waqar Ali, Mohammad Arsalan, Mohammad Umar Bhat, Mohammad Shahzaib Khan, Abdul Wahab, Zikriya Hayat, Bisharat Ali, Rana Waleed, Hamza Fayaz and Abdul Rehman.

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CHENNAI: Pakistan hockey team concluded their Asian Hockey Champions Trophy journey at fifth position after handing China a thumping 6-1 defeat on Friday.

The Green Shirts started the game on high as they quickly took a 4-0 lead in the first quarter.

Although, China, showed some grit and managed to score their solitary goal in the third quarter but the green-shirts eventually pulled them back and scored two more goals to hand them a heavy defeat by a margin of five goals.

Pakistan’s Mohammad Ammad and Mohammad Sufyan both scored two goals each, while Hanan Shahid and Abdul Rana each scored one goal.

China’s Benhai Chen scored the only goal of the match in the 35th minute through a penalty corner.

This was the first time that the Green Shirts failed to qualify for the semi-finals of the Asian Hockey Champions Trophy since its inception in 2011.

The national team was knocked out of the Asian Champions Trophy, after facing a daunting 0-4 defeat at the hands of arch-rivals India on Wednesday.

Pakistan’s only victory in the Asian Champions Trophy came against China, which finished at the bottom of the table with one point only.

Prior to that game, Pakistan was winless in the Asian Champions Trophy, as they drew against Japan (3-3), and defending champions South Korea (1-1), while, they were handed a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Malaysia in their first game.

Pakistan ended up with the same points as Japan and South Korea, however, it failed to qualify due to goal difference, as the other two teams progressed to the next round.

South Korea will face Malaysia in the first semi-final today, meanwhile, India will face Japan in the second semi-final on the same day.

Pakistan previously won the tournament in 2012 and 2013, while they shared the trophy with India in 2018 as the final was forfeited due to persistent rain. Meanwhile, India have won the title in 2011 and 2016.

READ: PM Shehbaz Sharif orders inquiry into PHF matters

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday directed Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to investigate the irregularities of the elections of the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) and other matters, ARY News reported. 

Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif has taken notice of irregularities in various matters, including the elections of the PHF.

He has directed for a thorough investigation into these matters and has also instructed for a reference to be sent to the FIA.

Last month, on July 19, a special committee chaired by Khawaja Asif convened to discuss the PHF matters. Following the meeting, recommendations were formulated to address the irregularities and were subsequently forwarded to PM Shehbaz Sharif.

In light of these recommendations, PM Shehbaz Sharif has ordered transparent conduct of the PHF elections, ensuring a fair process. He has also directed a comprehensive review of the Hockey Clubs and the Electoral College.

The Pakistan Sports Board will implement the Prime Minister’s directives.

It is evident that the state of national sport hockey is dire, and recently, the performance of the Pakistan team in the Asian Champions Trophy held in India was notably inadequate.

The national team was knocked out of the Asian Champions Trophy, after facing a daunting 0-4 defeat at the hands of arch-rivals India on Wednesday.

Pakistan ended up with the same points as Japan and South Korea, however, it failed to qualify due to goal difference, as the other two teams progressed to the next round.

The green shirts failed to qualify for the semi-finals of the Asian Hockey Champions Trophy for the first time since its inception in 2011.

In this aforementioned event, Pakistan secured a sole victory in the match against China, while facing defeats against Malaysia and India and managing draws against Japan and Korea.

READ: Pakistan women’s squad for white-ball series against South Africa unveiled

CHENNAI: Pakistan were knocked out of the Asian Champions Trophy, after facing a daunting 0-4 defeat at the hands of arch-rivals India on Wednesday.

Pakistan ended up with the same points as Japan and South Korea, however, it failed to qualify due to goal difference, as the other two teams progressed to the next round.

The green shirts failed to qualify for the semi-finals of the Asian Hockey Champions Trophy for the first time since its inception in 2011.

Pakistan started the game on a high with some great groundwork, however, Indian captain Harmanpreet Singh gave his team the lead with a goal just before the end of the first quarter.

India never looked back after that, as they dominated the second quarter and improved their lead with another goal by Harmanpreet Singh off a penalty corner.

Indian team kept challenging Pakistan’s defence and bore fruits as Jugraj Singh and Akashdeep Singh scored one goal each to finish the game at 4-0.

This loss extended Pakistan’s winless streak against India to 16 games, as they last won against arch-rivals back in 2016 in South Asian games.

Pakistan’s only victory in the Asian Champions Trophy came against China in the last game, which finished at the bottom of the table with one point only.

Prior to that game, Pakistan was winless in the Asian Champions Trophy, as they drew against Japan (3-3), and defending champions South Korea (1-1), while, they were handed a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Malaysia in their first game.

Pakistan will face China for the fifth and sixth place playoff on August 11.

South Korea will face Malaysia in the first semi-final on August 11, meanwhile, India will face Japan in the second semi-final on the same day.

Pakistan previously won the tournament in 2012 and 2013, while they shared the trophy with India in 2018 as the final was forfeited due to persistent rain. Meanwhile, India have won the title in 2011 and 2016.

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CHENNAI: Afraz’s match-winner lifted Pakistan to keep their semi-final hopes alive with a convincing 2-1 victory over China in the ongoing Asian Champions Trophy.

Pakistan started the game on a high as they maintained pressure on the Chinese defence right from the start and soon got the reward in the 19th minute, courtesy of Muhammad Sufiyan Khan’s brilliant goal.

The green shirts completely dominated the first half while Chinese players struggled to keep possession. However, Jiesheng Gao helped level things for China with an excellent flick from a penalty corner in the 32nd minute.

China’s comeback into the game was however cut short as Afraz scored in the 39th minute to give Pakistan a match-defining lead.

The green shirts put on a great effort to prevent China from firing the equalizer and thus tasted their maiden success in the ongoing Asian Champions Trophy.

Pakistan’s Rana Abdul, who was adjudged the player of the match termed the victory over China a crucial one and revealed that the young team is looking forward to their tie against arch-rivals India.

“This game was really crucial for us. The young team played incredibly and we are looking forward to the India game,” said Abdul in the post-match presentation.

Pakistan’s first win in the Asian Champions Trophy propelled them to fourth place. Meanwhile, China’s hopes of reaching the semifinals have been diminished.

Notably, Pakistan was winless in the Asian Champions Trophy before this game, as they drew 3-3 against Japan yesterday.

Prior to that, they drew 1-1 against defending champions South Korea, while, they were handed a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Malaysia in their first game.

Pakistan will now face arch-rivals India on August 9, while China will face Japan in their final group-stage match on the same day.

This is the seventh edition of the Asian Champions Trophy. Pakistan have won the tournament in 2012 and 2013, while India have won in 2011 and 2016.

The 2018 edition saw Pakistan and India jointly sharing the trophy as the final was forfeited due to persistent rain.

Defending champions South Korea won the tournament in 2021 after thumping Japan on penalties.

READ: Pakistan endure setback ahead of China clash in Asian Hockey Champions Trophy