Pakistan hockey team improves international ranking

The greens shirts won bronze medal during the recently-concluded Sultan Azlan Shah Cup

By Web Desk
November 14, 2022
Pakistan defeated Japan 5-3 in the bronze medal match of Sultan Azlan Shah Cup 2022 — Asian Hockey Federation

KARACHI: The Pakistan hockey team was successful in improving its international rankings after bagging a bronze medal during the recently-concluded Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in Ipoh, Malaysia.

In the FIH men’s rankings, Pakistan moved up one position to 17th at the expense of Japan, who they defeated 5-3 in the bronze medal match, who slip down one place to 18th.

Meanwhile, Australia remain at the top of the men’s rankings with 3052 points.

It must be noted that Pakistan won a medal at the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup for the first time in 11 years.

Pakistan had finished on the fourth position on the points table, with one win in five games.

“The young Pakistan players surprised everyone during the tournament,” Pakistan captain Umer Bhutta said after arriving back home on November 12.

“We want to save Pakistan hockey. The federal government should help us,” he pleaded.

Pakistan’s next assignment is the FIH Nations Cup in South Africa, which starts later this month, however the Pakistan Hockey Federation requires funds to participate in the event.

The FIH Hockey Men’s Nations Cup will take place at the North-West University of Potchefstroom from November 28 to December 4 2022.

Pakistan are placed in Pool A alongside France, Ireland and hosts South Africa. Meanwhile, Canada, Japan, Korea and Malaysia are part of Pool B.

Top two teams from each pool will qualify for the semi-finals of the event.

FIH World Rankings explained

According to FIH, the rankings calculations model, which was introduced in 2020, moved away from the previous tournament-based rankings system to match-based method where opposing teams exchange points in official, FIH sanctioned games.

The number of points exchanged depends on the result of the match, the relative ranking of the teams and the importance of the match.

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