Pakistan qualified for the semi-finals of the Men’s Junior Hockey Asia Cup, after defeating Malaysia by four goals to one in Oman on Sunday evening.
Sufyan Khan scored a hat-trick against Malaysia to secure Pakistan’s place in the semi-finals. Pakistan will play Japan in the first semi-final of the event on Tuesday.
The match between Pakistan and Japan will start at 5:30 PM Pakistan Standard Time. The second semi-final match between India and Malaysia will be held at 8 pm.
The final match of the tournament is scheduled to be held the next day, Wednesday.
The win also secured Pakistan a place in the 2025 Junior World Cup to be held in India.
In today’s match, the Green Shirts absolutely stunned the Young Tigers in the match between the two Group 2 teams.
Sufyan scored just three minutes into the match, putting Pakistan ahead after the first quarter ended 1-0.
Adam Ashraf Johari equalized in the 23rd minute, giving Malaysia a forced comeback in the next quarter.
However, Sufyan’s stunning goal in the 35th minute gave Pakistan the lead once again, and in the final quarter Abdul Qayyum extended their lead to 3-1.
Sufyan added another goal shortly before the final whistle to complete Pakistan’s thumping victory over Malaysia, although it looked as if the score would remain at 3-1.
This is the fourth consecutive victory for the national team in the tournament after earlier wins over China, Bangladesh and Oman. Thus, Pakistan has scored 12 points in four matches.
Pakistan squad for the Junior Asia Cup
Goalkeepers: Ali Raza, Faizan Janjua
Players: Sufyan Khan, Aqeel Ahmed, Bilal Aslam, Nadeem Khan, Muhammad Zain, Waseem, Sami, Zakaria Hayat, Muhammad Imad, Hanan Shahid (captain), Mugheera, Rana Waleed, Hamza Faiz, Basharat, Qayyum Dogar, and Saifullah.