BARCELONA: The 20-members squad of the Pakistan Hockey Team along with the coach Siegfried Aikman departed from here after the completion of the Europe Tour, here on Thursday.
Pakistan, who took on the Netherlands in two matches, Belgium in one, and Spain in two amid the Europe tour have flown back to the country after the conclusion of the tour.
In the last match of the Europe tour, the home side of Spain thrashed the green shirts by 5-3 to avenge the first match defeat in which Pakistan crushed the hosts 4-1.
Pakistan, who started the tour on a high following a thumping 5-3 victory over the Netherlands, could not keep up the momentum as the side lost the second match of the series 4-1.
The green shirts also remained unable to win their only encounter against Belgium, as the latter defeated Pakistan 5-1.
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BARCELONA: Pakistan Men’s Hockey Team sealed an astonishing 4-1 victory over the home side of Spain in the first match of the two-match series, here on Tuesday.
Pakistan started the two-match series on a high as the side secured a comprehensive victory over the better-ranked Spain.
The green shirts completely dominated the first half of the match as the side scored three goals, while the home side remained unable to net the ball once.
Rizwan scored the first goal for Pakistan in the first quarter of the game through a short corner. Ijaz Ali then scored the third field goal for Pakistan in the second quarter which resulted in Pakistan taking a three-goal lead over Spain.
The two teams remained involved in a hard-fought second half of the match with both scoring a goal each and the green shirts, in the end, claimed a comprehensive 4-1 victory over Spain. Roman made the fourth strike for the men in green.
It’s worth noting that the two teams will now face off in the second match of the series on May 4.
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BRUSSELS: Second-ranked Belgium Hockey Team secured a comprehensive victory over the 17th-ranked Pakistan Men’s Hockey Team by 4-1 in the only match between the two teams of the Europe Tour, here on Friday.
After the conclusion of a highly-competitive series against the Netherlands, the green shirts turned their attention towards Belgium to lock horns in the only match.
The better-ranked Belgium, however, outclassed the green shirts by the scores of 5-1.
In the first half, Pakistan could not net the ball once, in response to Belgium’s two. The green shirts then managed to cut the margin to 2-1 as Rizwan struck a goal in the third quarter.
Belgium, on the other hand, restored and also extended their lead as the side responded quickly with two goals in the same quarter.
Second-ranked Belgium then netted one in the final quarter to better their lead to 5-1. The green shirts, on the other hand, could not make their way back into the game despite a goal in the starting minutes of the third quarter and suffered a crushing defeat.
For Pakistan, Rizwan managed to score the only goal.
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AMSTERDAM: The 20-members squad of the Pakistan Hockey Team has landed here for their upcoming Europe tour, rolling into action from April 26.
Following their arrival here, the team will practice for three days before their first fixture of the tour against the home side Netherlands on April 26.
The head coach of the Pakistan hockey team, Siegfried Aikman, expressed his excitement on reaching with the team here for an important tour, saying it is an opportunity for us to compete with the best teams and analyse how the team grows.
“It is exciting for us to be here in Europe and to compete against the best and it will show how we grow and we can show what we want to achieve,” he said.
“So this is an amazing start for our campaign to do well at the Asia Cup and we also aim for the World Cup participation,” he added.
Aikman further revealed his plans to assess the players’ weaknesses and the urge to rectify them.
“I need to see how they develop, want to assess their weaknesses and when we go back to Lahore, we’ll work on them so that we are well prepared for the Asia Cup,” he said.
It is pertinent to mention here that Pakistan will take on the Netherlands in two matches, and will play one against Belgium, and three against Spain amid the upcoming Europe tour.
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