Pakistan clinch bronze medal in Sultan Azlan Shah Cup
They beat Japan by 5-3
KARACHI: Pakistan have defeated Japan 5-3 to clinch bronze medal in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup 2022 on Wednesday in Ipoh, Malaysia.
Pakistan have won a medal at the event for the first time in 11 years.
In the first quarter, Kentaro Fukuda gave Japan the lead in the ninth minute but that was quickly cancelled out by Pakistan’s Hanan Shahid in the 10th minute.
Pakistan scored two goals in the second quarter, one each by Arbaz and Rooman, to take control of the match.
Japan threatened to make a comeback, in the third quarter, after Yuma Nagai reduced Pakistan’s lead to one goal in the 30th minute. However, Rooman once again gave Pakistan a two-goal cushion in the 34th minute of the match.
In the final quarter, Yuma Nagai pulled one back for Japan in the 49th minute but Abdul Rana added another goal for Pakistan three minutes later.
It must be noted that Pakistan finished on the fourth position on the points table, with one win in five games.
Pakistan securing a medal in the event is commendable bearing in mind the fact that many experienced players were not part of the squad.
Why did the PHF send an inexperienced side to Malaysia?
The Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) was forced to send a young squad for the tournament after nine players, which included star players like Ammad Butt, Hammad Anjum, Moeen Shakeel, and Rizwan Ali, decided against joining the training camp last month.
According to sources, lucrative contracts in England league hockey, as compared to those offered by the PHF, and reservations with the Pakistan team coaching staff were among the reasons behind players’ decision to move abroad.
"Our team will give their 100 per cent on the field in order to get some points and improve our rankings. It won’t be easy since around ten players will debut for us in the tournament but it will give the youngsters international exposure,” Pakistan captain Bhutta told geosuper.tv from Malaysia last week.
“We will miss our senior players because we had been playing together for around one year. If we had continued with the same squad, it would have been beneficial for us, not only in this tournament, but in the Asian Games as well,” he added.
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