Hockey5s World Cup: Pakistan knocked out of title race

Pakistan were knocked out of the Hockey5s World Cup on Monday after losing 8-7 to Poland.

Pakistan just needed a draw against Poland in Pool A to make it through to the quarter-finals but the Green Shirts failed to grab the opportunity.

Pakistan were 3-0 down at one stage but made a comeback to level proceedings at 6-6. However, Poland struck late to take the match away from Pakistan once again.

Captain Rana Waheed Ashraf scored five goals for the losing side.

Pakistan played two matches yesterday, losing one and winning the other. They beat Nigeria 11-5 to begin their campaign but went down 5-3 against the Netherlands.

Netherlands and Poland qualified for the quarters from Pool A, meanwhile Pakistan will now take part in 9th-16th classification matches.

India, Egypt, Switzerland and Jamaica will compete in Pool B. Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad & Tobago and Kenya are placed in Pool C, while hosts Oman will face Malaysia, United States and Fiji in Pool D.

After the conclusion of the pool stage, the top 8 teams (top 2 in each pool) will qualify for the next round to compete to become the inaugural FIH Hockey5s World Champions.

According to the official FIH website, as its name suggests, Hockey5s is played with 5 athletes per team. It is particularly known for its non-stop end-to-end action, since the ball is in play for about 90% of a match, thanks to rebound-boards placed against the outside of the side-lines and back-lines. There are usually more goals with Hockey5s than with the more traditional 11-a-side format of hockey, since players can score from anywhere after the attacking line. Furthermore, Hockey5s is played on a smaller pitch, which enables to bring hockey to new venues, even at the heart of the cities.

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