Pakistan have qualified for semi-final of Men’s Junior Hockey Asia Cup, defeating Malaysia by four goals to one in Oman Sunday night.
Sufiyan Khan scored a hat-trick against Malaysia to secure a berth for Pakistan in the semi-final. Pakistan will play against Japan in first semi-final of the event on Tuesday.
The Pakistan-Japan match will begin at 5:30pm Pakistan Standard Time. The second semifinal will be played between India and Malaysia at 8pm.
Final of the tournament will be played the very next day on Wednesday.
The win has also guaranteed Pakistan a spot in the 2025 Junior World Cup which will be played in India.
In today’s match, the Green Shirts completely flummoxed the young Tigers in the contest between the two sides of Group B.
Sufiyan scored just three minutes after the game began, putting Pakistan in the lead after first quarter finished 1-0.
Adam Ashraf Johari levelled the game in the 23rd minute to give Malaysia a forced comeback in the next quarter.
However, Sufiyan’s outstanding goal in the 35th minute gave Pakistan the lead again, and in the last quarter, Abdul Qayyum increased their lead to 3-1.
Sufiyan added another goal shortly before the final whistle to complete Pakistan’s resounding victory over Malaysia, even though it looked like the score would stay at 3-1.
This was the national team’s fourth consecutive victory in the tournament as they earlier defeated China, Bangladesh and Oman. Hence, Pakistan has gained 12 points in four matches.
Pakistan’s squad for Junior Asia Cup
Goalkeepers: Ali Raza, Faizan Janjua
Players: Sufiyan Khan, Aqeel Ahmed, Bilal Aslam, Nadeem Khan, Mohammad Zain, Wasim, Sami, Zakariya Hayat, Mohammad Imad, Hanan Shahid (Captain), Mughira, Rana Waleed, Hamza Fayaz, Basharat, Qayyum Dogar, and Saifullah.