MUSCAT: Sufiyan Khan scored a hat-trick as Pakistan romped to a crushing 4-1 victory over Malaysia here on Sunday and qualified for the semi-finals of the ongoing 2024 Men’s Junior Hockey Asia Cup.
The victory also guaranteed Pakistan’s spot in the Junior Hockey World Cup, scheduled to be played in India next year.
In a duel between two unbeaten sides of Group B, the green shirts completely outclassed the young tigers.
In-form Sufiyan opened the scoring just three minutes into the game as Pakistan finished the first quarter with a 1-0 lead.
Malaysia forced a comeback in the following quarter as Adam Ashraf Johari scored the equaliser in the 23rd minute.
But Sufiyan reinstated Pakistan’s lead with a brilliant strike in the 35th minute, while Abdul Qayyum extended their advantage to 3-1 in the final quarter.
It appeared that the scoreline would remain in tact at 3-1 but Sufiyan Khan scored another goal just before the final whistle to round up Pakistan’s commanding victory over Malaysia.
The victory marked the national team’s fourth consecutive in the tournament, having previously defeated China, Bangladesh and Oman in commanding manner.
As a result, Pakistan finished the group stage with 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.
Faizan Lakhani is Deputy Editor (Sports) at Geo News.
