With four victories and a tied match, the Green Shirts have seized theleading position on the points table, accumulating 13 points after theirgame against Malaysia resulted in a 5-5 draw. In a previous match, Pakistantriumphed over Oman with a score of 9-4 during the ongoing Asia Hockey5sWorld Cup Qualifiers.
Pakistan now occupies the top rank on the points table, followed by Indiain second place with 12 points and Malaysia in third with 10 points. In thematch versus Malaysia, Rana Abdul Waheed netted three goals, while MohammadMurtaza and Abdul Rehman each contributed one goal for the Green Shirts.Malaysia’s scores included a brace by Din Muhammad, and Mat Syarman, AnuwarAkhimullah, and Ishak Arif each added one goal.
Malaysia secured the third spot on the points table, while Bangladesh,Oman, and Japan clinched the fourth, fifth, and sixth positions,respectively. The day before, the Green Shirts defeated rivals India andBangladesh with scores of 5-4 and 15-6.
The Pakistani team is led by head coach Olympian Wasim Feroze and managedby Major Muhammad Shahnawaz Khan. Among the teams, India, Malaysia,Pakistan, Japan, Oman, and Bangladesh are placed in the Elite pool, whileHong Kong China, Indonesia, Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, and Iran compete inthe Challenger pool.
Following the completion of pool matches, the initial crossover games willfeature the bottom two teams from the elite pool against the top two teamsfrom the challenger pool. Winners from these matches will advance to thesecond phase of crossover games against the third and fourth-placed teamsfrom the elite pool. The top two finishers from the elite pool will facethe winners of the second crossovers in the semi-finals.
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The bronze medal match will include the losing semi-finalists, with thewinner, along with the two finalists, earning qualification for theinaugural FIH Hockey5s World Cup in Oman 2024.
Pakistan’s lineup consists of Abdullah Ishtiaq Khan, Ali Raza, MuhammadAbdullah, Ehtsham Aslam, Muhammad Murtaza Yaqoob, Arshad Liaquat, ZakriyaHayat, Rana Abdul Waheed Ashraf, Abdul Rehman, and Abdul Wahab.