Pakistan improve rank in hockey rankings

The International Hockey Federation (FIH) on Sunday released new rankings which has seen Pakistan improve by one spot and now sits at 15th place.

The Pakistan hockey team have made a great comeback as from 2018 to 2022, they were ranked at the 18th position but after some good performances in the last year, they have improved their rank.

In the 2022-23 season, the teams that were sent by the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) not only improved their country's rank in the world rankings but also won medals.

The senior squad won a bronze medal in the Sultan Azlan Shah Hockey Cup in Malaysia.

The junior squad did wonders as well as they won a silver medal after finishing as the runner-ups in the Asian Junior Hockey Championship 2023 and also qualified for the Junior Hockey World Cup with their fantastic performances, which will be played in December in Malaysia.

It must be noted that in 2018, Pakistan did not participate in the FIH Pro League due to which FIH deducted points from Pakistan and their ranking was downgraded from 12th to 18th position.

Earlier today, PHF also announced a 10-man squad for the upcoming five-a-side Hockey World Cup Qualifiers which is set to take place in Oman from September 2.

Pakistan's squad

Goalkeepers: Abdullah Ishtiaq Khan, Ali Raza

Defenders: Mohammad Abdullah (vc).

Midfielders: Ahtisham Aslam, Mohammad Murtaza Yaqoob.

Strikers: Arshad Liaquat, Zakaria Hayat, Rana Abdul Waheed (c), Abdul Rehman, Abdul Wahab.

Olympian Waseem Feroz is appointed as head coach of the team while Lt. Colonel Yameen Khan will serve as the team's manager.

According to the secretary general PHF, the Pakistan squad will depart from Islamabad on PIA Flight PK 131 at 10am on Monday (August 28).