U18 Hockey Asia Cup: Pakistan claim bronze with 18-0 win

Pummel Chinese Taipei in third-place playoff match in Dhaka

KARACHI: Pakistan’s U18 hockey team won their third-place playoff match with a massive 18-0 win against Chinese Taipei to secure bronze medal in the 4th Men’s Under-18 Asia Hockey Cup yesterday at the Maulana Bhashani Hockey Stadium in Dhaka, Bangladesh, with India defeating the hosts 5-4 to claim the title.

The Colts struck as many as 10 goals in the first half and refused to take their foot off the pedal as they struck eight more in the second.

“I’m glad we’ve secured third place, but at the same time we lost the chance to become the continental champions,” said manager-cum-coach Kamran Ashraf. “The main match of the tournament was the one against India; we should have won that.”

However, he said that the main objective of the tournament was to give the junior players some international exposure.



“They have the ability to defeat India and Bangladesh but they were just not able to handle the pressure,” explained Ashraf. “This tournament has been a learning curve for the youngsters as they now know what it’s like to be under pressure.”

Ashraf, while outlining the team’s future goals, said the players will be trained further for upcoming tours and competitions that the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) has planned for them.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 1^st, 2016.             

Like Sports on Facebook, follow @ETribuneSports on Twitter to stay informed and join in the conversation.