Green Shirts recently impressed during the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in Malaysia where they remained unbeaten and managed to win silver medal after losing to Japan in the final on a penalty shootout,
Pakistan hockey was at an all-time low when they failed to qualify for the Olympics, where they won three gold medals, for the third consecutive time earlier this year. Additionally, the Green Shirts also failed to qualify for the World Cup, where they bagged gold four times in the past, last year.
However, the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup proved to be a breath of fresh air for hockey fans after Pakistan qualified for the final of the event for the first time in 13 years.
The Nations Cup is important because the winning team will be promoted to the elite FIH Hockey Pro League for the 2024-25 season
Pakistan will play the curtain raiser against Malaysia on Friday. Ironically, the teams met in the opening day’s fixture at the recently concluded Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in Malaysia. Although Pakistan trailed 3-1 in that match, they went on to stage a remarkable recovery and won the match 5-4.
Pakistan’s remaining matches in Pool B will be against Canada and France. Meanwhile while the Pool A consists of Austria, Korea, New Zealand, Poland and South Africa.
The top two teams in the respective Pools will play in the semi-finals
Malaysian coach Sarjit Singh, recognising their tough opposition in their first match, said ‘Pakistan will be boosted after their performance at Sultan Azlan Shah Cup’.
Meanwhile, Green Shirts preparations for tournament in Holland have been hampered by visa issues where they had to scrap the match against the national Dutch team.
