Pakistan will face Japan today in the final of the ongoing Sultan Azlan Shah Cup 2024 in Ipoh, Malaysia.
Pakistan’s first-ever sports channel, Geo Super, will broadcast the match live from 5:30pm (Pakistan Standard Time).
The Sultan Azlan Shah Cup 2024 saw the conclusion of round matches on Friday with Japan and Pakistan finishing as the top two teams on the points table as both remained unbeaten throughout the round-robin matches.
Japan remained on the top with 13 points as they won four matches and drew only one. While Pakistan stayed on the second position with 11 points.
Earlier, while shedding light on Pakistan’s opponents in the final, forward Abdul Hannan Shahid said that Japan’s defensive line is extremely solid.
“Japan are defensively very solid and they don’t give many openings to their opponents,” he said. “As far as attack is concerned, they might not be as creative as some of the other teams but they are quite effective in taking advantage of their opponents’ mistakes on the field.”
“Pakistan have scored a high number of goals but at the same time, we are conceding at the other end as well. However, we will try to rectify our defensive flaws in the remaining matches,” he added.
Pakistan’s performance in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup should be a morale booster for the team especially because the team has to feature in the FIH Nations Cup in Gniezno, Poland, from May 31 to June 9 as well. The Nations Cup is important because the winning team will have the opportunity to play in the FIH Hockey Pro League for the 2024-25 season.
The Chairman of Prime Minister Youth Program, Rana Mashhood Ahmad khan, confirmed on Friday that the premier, Shehbaz Sharif, will reward the players if they win the tournament.
“The promotion of sports in Pakistan is among prime minister’s priorities,” Mashhood added.
Additionally, Canada will face Korea in the 5th/6th place match today at 1:00pm. Meanwhile, Malaysia will lock horns with New Zealand for the 3rd/4th place position at 3:15pm.
