Good tidings from Japan: Pakistan crowned Asian hockey champions

The greenshirts beat host Japan in final of Asian Champions Trophy.

KARACHI: Pakistan retained the Asian Champions Trophy title after defeating hosts Japan 3-1 in the final at Kakamigahara – reviving hopes after failing to qualify for the World Cup 2014.

The team’s head coach and manager, Tahir Zaman, said the way the team managed to retain the title will serve as a huge morale-booster in efforts to revive Pakistan hockey.

The greenshirts remained unbeaten throughout the six-nation tournament, beating Oman (8-0), China (5-1), Malaysia (1-0) and India (5-4) besides playing a 2-2 draw against hosts earlier in the league phase.



In the final, the host Japan – spurred on by the crowd - made life difficult for Pakistan in the initial phase of the match. Japan took lead in the first half and went into the second half with a 1-0 lead. The team managed to thwart several attacks by Pakistani players and sustained huge pressure after drawing first blood.

The greenshirts, however, held their nerves and equalised through Rizwan Senior before taking the lead with a goal from centre forward Abdul Haseem Khan.

Hammad Khan’s goal on the short-corner in the final stage of the match sealed the victory for Pakistan as the team successfully defended the title which they had claimed last year in Doha after defeating arch-rivals India in the final.

Zaman credited good coordination among senior and junior players for the title. “It’s a result of team work,” the jubilant Pakistan team’s coach told The Express Tribune. “Honestly, I was not hoping for such a good performance from this team because of the presence of several young players who had no international experience,” he said, adding that both senior and junior players gelled together to make the victory possible.

“Nowadays, teams considered as minnows in the past are developing rapidly and have started winning against big teams which we also saw in this competition. This title cannot be downplayed in anyway. Specifically, the performance of youngsters was commendable who instantly made amends after a brief stint at Hockey 9s in Australia,” Zaman said.

Zaman, who is also a former Olympian, added that the title was a must for the team to boost morale after an unprecedented failure to reach the World Cup. “We needed a breakthrough after that tragedy and this event will now boost our confidence as our aim is to rebuild the team,” he added. Still, he admitted that this victory was not the pinnacle for the greenshirts.

“We have a lot to prove at an international level – still a lot of work needs to be done. After heading home, we have to assess our grey areas and minimise our weaknesses.”

Meanwhile, former captain Rehan Butt while praising team’s performance defined it a positive sign in team’s progress. “The team showed hockey is not dead in Pakistan. It has proved that failing to qualify for the World Cup was bad luck,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 11^th,2013.