Youth Olympics: Spirited Pakistan lose to Canada

Greenshirts beaten 3-2 on penalties in hockey at Youth Olympics.

KARACHI:

Pakistan lost to Canada 3-2 on penalties in the quarter-finals of the hockey 5s event at the 2014 Youth Olympics in China on Saturday.

Pakistan conceded an early goal in the opening six minutes, but instantly equalised as Muhammad Bilal Mahmood scored in the 10th minute.

Canada then went on to a scoring spree, with Amrit Sindu and Brandon Pereira scoring three more goals in the following 15 minutes as the scoreline read 5-1.

Shan Irshad scored Pakistan’s second goal in the 23rd minute, while teenager Muhammad Atiq and Nohaiz Zahid Malik contributed a few seconds later, diminishing the margin to 5-4.

Canada’s Harbir Sidhu extended their lead in the 30th minute to which Pakistan replied with a brace from Mubashar Ali two minutes later and Malik struck the equaliser in the 34th minute.

Canada once again took the lead with Harbirs’ goal, but Atiq’s last-minute goal kept Pakistan’s hopes alive towards the end of the 35 minutes.

The match ended 7-7, after which both sides went into the penalty shootout with Canada winning 3-2.

Despite the defeat, former national player and current Pakistan Hockey Federation juniors’ coach Rehan Butt said that the youngsters’ campaign at the Youth Olympics is a positive start.

“They reached the quarter-finals and this is just a beginning for these players,” Butt told The Express Tribune. “They performed outstandingly in the pool stages when they defeated Germany 6-2. They just succumbed to the pressure of the quarter-final.” 

Published in The Express Tribune, August 24^th, 2014.

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