Category: Hockey

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) on Thursday, issued a No-Objection Certificate (NOC) to the national men’s Hockey team to partake in the upcoming Asian Hockey Champions Trophy in Chennai, India.

According to the details, the national men’s hockey team has already received the visa for India and will now travel to the neighbouring country on July 31.

Earlier this month, the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) selection committee unveiled an 18-member squad for the Asian Hockey Champions Trophy.

According to the details, the 18-member squad with seven stand-by players were finalised after the conclusion of two-day trials and was approved by PHF President Brigadier Khalid Sajjad Khokhar.

Umar Bhutta will continue to lead the national men’s hockey team while Abdul Waheed Ashraf will serve as his deputy in the Asian Champions Trophy.

The recently-announced squad includes Akmal Hussain, Abdullah Ishtiaq Khan, Muhammad Abdullah, Muhammad Sufyan Khan, Ehtisham Aslam, Osama Bashir, Aqeel Ahmed, Arshad Liaquat, Muhammad Imad, Abdul Hanan Shahid, Zakaria Hayat, Rana Abdul Waheed Ashraf (vc), Muhammad Umar Bhatta (c), Roman, Muhammad Murtaza Yaqub, Muhammad Shahzaib Khan, Afraz and Abdul Rahman.

Meanwhile, Ali Raza, Muhammad Baqir, Muhammad Nadeem Khan, Abdul Wahab, Waqar Ali, Muhammad Arsalan and Abdul Qayyum have been included in the stand-by players’ list.

Last month, the Asian Hockey Federation (AHF) unveiled the schedule of the upcoming Asian Hockey Champions Trophy.

As per the statement released by the AHF, the six-team tournament will run from August 3 to 12 in Chennai.

The tournament will begin with Korea and Japan playing the first game, while hosts, India will play the third game of the opening day when they take on China.

The six-team tournament will see Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, Japan, China, and India battle it out for top honours. All the participating teams are placed in one pool and the positions on the points table will be decided by a league system.

Pakistan will start their Asian Hockey Champions Trophy campaign against Malaysia on August 3 before taking on Korea on August 4, Japan on August 6 and China on August 7.

The green shirts will then lock horns with arch-rivals India in their last round fixture on August 9.

The final of the Asian Hockey Champions Trophy will be held on August 12.

Notably, Pakistan and India are the most successful sides of the tournament, having won the title thrice each while Korea will participate in the upcoming edition as the defending champions, who won the previous edition in 2021.

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LAHORE: Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) selection committee on Friday, unveiled an 18-member squad for the upcoming Asian Hockey Champions Trophy, scheduled to take place from August 3 to 12 in Chennai, India.

According to the details, the 18-member squad with seven stand-by players were finalised after the conclusion of two-day trials and was approved by PHF President Brigadier Khalid Sajjad Khokhar.

Umar Bhutta will continue to lead the national men’s hockey team while Abdul Waheed Ashraf will serve as his deputy in the Asian Champions Trophy.

The recently-announced squad includes Akmal Hussain, Abdullah Ishtiaq Khan, Muhammad Abdullah, Muhammad Sufyan Khan, Ehtisham Aslam, Osama Bashir, Aqeel Ahmed, Arshad Liaquat, Muhammad Imad, Abdul Hanan Shahid, Zakaria Hayat, Rana Abdul Waheed Ashraf (vc), Muhammad Umar Bhatta (c), Roman, Muhammad Murtaza Yaqub, Muhammad Shahzaib Khan, Afraz and Abdul Rahman.

Meanwhile, Ali Raza, Muhammad Baqir, Muhammad Nadeem Khan, Abdul Wahab, Waqar Ali, Muhammad Arsalan and Abdul Qayyum have been included in the stand-by players’ list.

Last month, the Asian Hockey Federation (AHF) unveiled the schedule of the upcoming Asian Hockey Champions Trophy.

As per the statement released by the AHF, the six-team tournament will run from August 3 to 12 in Chennai.

The tournament will begin with Korea and Japan playing the first game, while hosts, India will play the third game of the opening day when they take on China.

The six-team tournament will see Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, Japan, China, and India battle it out for top honours. All the participating teams are placed in one pool and the positions on the points table will be decided by a league system.

Pakistan will start their Asian Hockey Champions Trophy campaign against Malaysia on August 3 before taking on Korea on August 4, Japan on August 6 and China on August 7.

The green shirts will then lock horns with arch-rivals India in their last round fixture on August 9.

The final of the Asian Hockey Champions Trophy will be held on August 12.

Notably, Pakistan and India are the most successful sides of the tournament, having won the title thrice each while Korea will participate in the upcoming edition as the defending champions, who won the previous edition in 2021.

The training camp of the shortlisted players for the national team to participate in the upcoming edition of the Asian Hockey Champions Trophy was held at National Hockey Stadium, Lahore.

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LAUSANNE: Pakistan, alongside Spain and China will co-host the upcoming FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifiers, scheduled to take place from 13 to 21 January 2024, the International Hockey Federation (FIH) confirmed on Monday.

As per the statement released by the FIH, China and Spain will co-host the Women’s Qualifiers while Pakistan and Spain will co-host the Men’s tournament.

Each tournament will consist of eight teams – 16 teams per gender in total. The Women’s FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifiers will feature four teams from Asia, eight from Europe, one from Oceania and three from Pan America.

The Men’s FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifiers, on the other hand, will feature one team each from Africa and Oceania, five from Asia, seven from Europe and two from Pan America.

“The teams filling each quota, and therefore invited to participate, will be based on their performance at the Continental Championships taking place in 2023,” said FIH in a statement.

“The top 3 teams in each of these FIH Hockey Olympic Qualification Tournaments will qualify for Paris 2024. They will join hosts France as well as the winners of each Continental Championship (African Hockey Road to Paris, Pan American Games, Asian Games, EuroHockey Championship and Oceania Cup),” the statement added.

Notably, the Hockey Olympic Qualifiers 2024 will mark Pakistan hosting its first FIH event since 2004.

Reacting to obtaining the hosting rights of the Paris Olympics Qualifiers, Secretary General of the Pakistan Hockey Federation Syed Haider Hussain termed it an honour for the country and vowed to host the event in a grand manner.

“It is an honour to host the FIH event,” said Hussain. This event will prove to be the stepping stone in the return of the golden era of hockey in Pakistan.

“We will host the event in a grand manner. We are hopeful that the fans fill in the stadiums just like they did in the 1990 World Cup,” he concluded.

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KUALA LUMPUR: The Asian Hockey Federation (AHF) on Friday, unveiled the schedule of the upcoming Asian Hockey Champions Trophy.

As per the statement released by the AHF, the six-team tournament will run from  August 3 to 12 in Chennai.

The tournament will begin with Korea and Japan playing the first game, while hosts, India will play the third game of the opening day when they take on China.

The six-team tournament will see Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, Japan, China, and India battle it out for top honours. All the participating teams are placed in one pool and the positions on the points table will be decided by a league system.

Pakistan will start their Asian Hockey Champions Trophy campaign against Malaysia on August 3 before taking on Korea on August 4, Japan on August 6 and China on August 7.

The green shirts will then lock horns with arch-rivals India in their last round fixture on August 9.

The final of the Asian Hockey Champions Trophy will be held on August 12.

Notably, Pakistan and India are the most successful sides of the tournament, having won the title thrice each while Korea will participate in the upcoming edition as the defending champions, who won the previous edition in 2021.

Notably, the training camp of the shortlisted players for the national team to participate in the upcoming edition of the Asian Hockey Champions Trophy is currently underway at National Hockey Stadium, Lahore.

Earlier, the junior national hockey team participated in the Asia Cup where they reached the final.

Pakistan finished as the runners-up of the Junior Hockey Asia Cup after falling to a 1-2 defeat against arch-rivals India in the blockbuster final.

Heading into the blockbuster final, both India and Pakistan were unbeaten in the continental event.

The arch-rivals have so far come face to face in four Junior Hockey Asia Cup finals with India winning on three occasions – 2004, 08 and 23 – while the green shirts emerged victorious once in 1996.

Furthermore, before this year’s tournament both Pakistan were level as the joint-most title-winning sides (3) but India’s latest title victory propelled them to the record title holder of the Asian event.

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KARACHI: Head coach Haneef Khan, alongside three players of the Pakistan Junior Hockey team returned to the country on Saturday after participating in the recently-concluded Asia Cup.

Besides coach Haneef, three players of Pakistan Junior Hockey team Abdul Wahab, Arbaz Khan and Ayaz Ahmed also landed here at Jinnah International on Saturday afternoon.

The players received a warm welcome from the Karachi Hockey Association (KHA) officials and their families at the airport. They also received garlands as a symbol of appreciation.

It is pertinent to mention that Pakistan finished as the runners-up of the Junior Hockey Asia Cup after falling for a 1-2 defeat against arch-rivals India in the blockbuster final.

Singh Angad Bir opened the scoring for India in the 12th minute via a brilliant field goal and gave his side an upper hand in the first quarter.

Hundal Araijeet Singh then doubled India’s lead just four minutes into the second quarter as Pakistan spilt a couple of opportunities to fire an equalizer.

The third quarter turned out to be a fortune changer for the green shirts as they finally registered a goal on the scoreboard, courtesy of a calculated field goal by Ali Basharat in the 37th minute.

Basharat’s goal forced India to be more defensive and they cordoned off their post to deny Pakistan any chance to fire the equalizer.

Pakistan made several attempts to breach India’s defences by dribbling past their defenders and awarded penalty corners but failed to fire the ball into the nets and thus India ran away with the victory.

Heading into the blockbuster final, both India and Pakistan were unbeaten in the continental event.

The arch-rivals have so far come face to face in four Junior Hockey Asia Cup finals with India winning on three occasions – 2004, 08 and 23 – while the green shirts emerged victorious once in 1996.

Furthermore, before this year’s tournament both Pakistan were level as the joint-most title-winning sides (3) but India’s latest title victory propelled them to the record title holder of the Asian event.

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SALALAH: Arch-rivals India edged Pakistan by the scoreline of 2-1 to lift the Junior Hockey Asia Cup 2023 title, which is their fourth overall.

Singh Angad Bir opened the scoring for India in the 12th minute via a brilliant field goal and gave his side an upper hand in the first quarter.

Hundal Araijeet Singh then doubled India’s lead just four minutes into the second quarter as Pakistan spilt a couple of opportunities to fire an equalizer.

The third quarter turned out to be a fortune changer for the green shirts as they finally registered a goal on the scoreboard, courtesy of a calculated field goal by Ali Basharat in the 37th minute.

Basharat’s goal forced India to be more defensive and they cordoned off their post to deny Pakistan any chance to fire the equalizer.

Pakistan made several attempts to breach India’s defences by dribbling past their defenders and awarded penalty corners but failed to fire the ball into the nets and thus India ran away with the victory.

Heading into the blockbuster final, both India and Pakistan were unbeaten in the continental event.

The arch-rivals have so far come face to face in four Junior Hockey Asia Cup finals with India winning on three occasions – 2004, 08 and 23 – while the green shirts emerged victorious once in 1996.

Furthermore, before this year’s tournament both Pakistan were level as the joint-most title-winning sides (3) but India’s latest title victory propelled them to the record title holder of the Asian event.

Notably, the arch-rivals also came face to face in the group stage but the enthralling contest failed to conclude a result as they settled for a 1-1 stalemate.

Playing at the Salalah Sports Complex, the Pakistan team defended the Indian attack quite brilliantly in the first quarter which ended without a goal despite men in blue enjoying the bulk of possession.

India took the lead via a penalty corner with Sharad Nand Tiwari flicking the ball in the net to help his team go 1-0 before halftime.

Pakistan, however, unleashed a counterattack in the third quarter and put the Indian defence under pressure.

India won a couple of penalty corners but failed to score. Pakistan, on the other hand, equalized through Ali Basharat, who netted from a close distance to make it 1-1.

The final quarter also witnessed a see-saw contest with both teams battling for a winning goal but the deadlock persisted till the final whistle.

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SALALAH: Abdul Rehman scored a brilliant hat-trick as Pakistan came from behind to hand a 6-2 thrashing to Malaysia in the Junior Hockey Asia Cup semi-final on Wednesday.

Parabo Tangaraja opened the scoring for Malaysia in the 21st minute to take the lead which lasted until the 42nd minute as Muhammad Safyan fired the equaliser.

Abdul Rehman then struck his first and put the men in green in the lead in the 44th minute but the advantage only lasted a minute as Malaysia equalized.

Abdul Hannan Shahid’s field goal in the 47th minute once again put Pakistan into the lead before Abdul Rehman struck twice in the 48th and 51st minutes to complete his hat-trick and enhanced Pakistan’s dominance.

Arbar Ahmed’s 58th-minute strike proved to be a cherry on top for Pakistan which completed a 6-2 thrashing victory over Malaysia to qualify for the third straight Junior Hockey Asia Cup final and seventh overall.

Pakistan will now face arch-rivals India in the much-anticipated final of the Asian event. Earlier in the first semi-final, India blew away South Korea 9-1 to qualify for the final.

It is worth mentioning here that both Pakistan and India are so far unbeaten in this year’s Junior Hockey Asia Cup.

The arch-rivals also came face to face in the group stage but the enthralling contest failed to conclude a result as they settled for a 1-1 stalemate.

Playing at the Salalah Sports Complex, the Pakistan team defended the Indian attack quite brilliantly in the first quarter which ended without a goal despite men in blue enjoying the bulk of possession.

India took the lead via a penalty corner with Sharad Nand Tiwari flicking the ball in the net to help his team go 1-0 before halftime.

Pakistan, however, unleashed a counterattack in the third quarter and put the Indian defence under pressure.

India won a couple of penalty corners but failed to score. Pakistan, on the other hand, equalized through Ali Basharat, who netted from a close distance to make it 1-1.

The final quarter also witnessed a see-saw contest with both teams battling for a winning goal but the deadlock persisted till the final whistle.

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SALALAH: Pakistan beat Japan 3-2 on Monday in the Junior Hockey Asia Cup 2023 to reach the tournament’s semifinal while also qualifying for this year’s Junior  World Cup in Malaysia.

Pakistan will take on World Cup hosts Malaysia on Wednesday in the semifinal.

Abdul Wahab scored twice while Arbaaz Ahmed netted the first goal to give Pakistan a thrilling win over the opponents in their final encounter in Pool A.

Japan secured an early in the second minute of the game, through Kompi Yoshida on a penalty corner and ended the first quarter with a 1-0 lead.

Arbaaz found the equaliser in the 23rd minute on a penalty corner before Wahab put the Green Shirts ahead with a field goal in the 30th.

In the third quarter, the game witnessed a see-saw contest between the two sides as Japan nullified Pakistan’s lead through Hota Yamada in the 38th minute while Wahab was quick to restore the one-goal cushion.

With the win, Pakistan have also confirmed their spot in the FIH Men’s Hockey Asia Cup to be held in Kuala Lumpur from December 5 to 16, 2023.

Besides the Men in Green, India also qualified for the event’s semifinal from Pool A and will face South Korea, who finished second in Pool B.

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SALALAH: Pakistan held India to a 1-1 draw and continued their unbeaten streak in the Men’s Junior Asia Cup 2023 hockey tournament in Salalah, Oman on Saturday.

Sharda Nand Tiwari scored the opener for India in the 24th minute before Pakistan’s Basharat Ali equalized in the 44th.

Both India and Pakistan have accumulated seven points each from their respective three-game in Pool A but the latter leads the tally with a better goal difference.

Japan, who beat Chinese Taipei 10-1 earlier on Saturday, are third with six points from three outings.

Playing at the Salalah Sports Complex, the Pakistan team defended the Indian attack quite brilliantly in the first quarter which ended without a goal despite men in blue enjoying the bulk of possession.

India took the lead via a penalty corner with Sharad Nand Tiwari flicking the ball in the net to help his team go 1-0 before halftime.

Pakistan, however, unleashed a counterattack in the third quarter and put the Indian defence under pressure.

India won a couple of penalty corners but failed to score. Pakistan, on the other hand, equalized through Ali Basharat, who netted from a close distance to make it 1-1.

The final quarter also witnessed a see-saw contest with both teams battling for a winning goal but the deadlock persisted till the final whistle.

Pakistan have a fair chance to qualify for the event’s semifinal and also earn a spot in FIH Junior Hockey World Cup 2023 when they face Japan on May 29.

The Men in Green only require to avoid a defeat in their last group encounter.

Malaysia, as hosts, have already qualified for the World Cup. Since they have also qualified for the semi-finals of the Junior Asia Cup, this means that all the other three teams making it to the last four will gain entry into the World Cup as well.

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SALALAH: Muhammad Sufyan Khan and Abdul Hanan Shahid scored hat-tricks as Pakistan humbled Chinese Taipei 15-1 in their opening match of the Men’s Junior Hockey Asia Cup.

The Green Shirts were off to a flying start as Muhammad Sufyan Khan scored the opener just two minutes into the game.

Arbaaz Ahmed was quick to double Pakistan’s lead as he scored one five minutes later before Muhammad Sufyan Khan struck again in the 18th minute to take the national side’s lead to 3-0.

Pakistan struck two more goals in the first half and went to the break with an advantage of 5-0.

The green shirts completely blew away Chinese Taipei in the second as they smashed 10 more goals to complete a dominating triumph over hapless Chinese Taipei.

Chinese Taipei, on the other hand, could only manage to score only one goal and thus Pakistan claimed a big win. The Green Shirts will face Thailand in the second match of Junior Men’s Asia Cup on Wednesday.

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