Pakistan’s hockey team has secured the top spot in Asia Hockey5s World Cup Qualifiers after its last pool match ended in a 5-5 tie against Malaysia.
The Men in Green, who have yet to lose a game in the competition, lead the points table with 13 points, followed by India with 12 points.
Rana Abdul Waheed scored three goals in the Men in Green’s last pool match against Malaysia, while Mohammad Murtaza and Abdul Rehman each scored one.
Din Muhammad scored twice for Malaysia, while Mat Syarman, Anuwar Akhimullah, and Ishak Arif each scored once.
Malaysia finished third on the points table, with Bangladesh, Oman, and Japan finishing fourth, fifth, and sixth, respectively.
Men in Green had upset archrivals India and Bangladesh the day before, 5-4 and 15-6, respectively.
The Pakistani team is led by Olympian Wasim Feroze and managed by Major Muhammad Shahnawaz Khan.
The Elite pool includes India, Malaysia, Pakistan, Japan, Oman, and Bangladesh. The city of Hong Kong In the Challenger pool, China, Indonesia, Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, and Iran will compete.
After the completion of the teams’ pool matches, the first crossover matches will be contested between the bottom two teams in the elite pool and the top two teams in the challenger pool. The winners of these two competitions will compete in the second round of crossover matches against the teams finishing third and fourth in the elite pool.
In the semi-finals, the two top finishers from the elite pool will face the winners of the second crossovers.
The losing semi-finalists will compete in the bronze medal match, with the winner and the two finalists qualifying for the inaugural FIH Hockey5s World Cup Oman 2024.
