In their opening match of the Asian Hockey Champions Trophy in Chennai, Pakistan suffered a defeat against Malaysia. The Pakistan team displayed solid performance in the first two quarters, but Malaysia managed to take a 2-0 lead by halftime, putting pressure on the inexperienced Pakistan side.
Faisal Saari and Farhan Sarri were instrumental in securing the 2-0 lead for Malaysia. Faisal scored the first goal with a superb assist from Farhan in the second quarter. Shortly after, the duo combined again to score another goal for Malaysia. Later, Faisal set up another goal, and Silverius Shello successfully netted the ball, extending Malaysia’s lead to 3-0. From that point onwards, Malaysia controlled the game and started their Asian event campaign with a victory.
The Pakistan squad for the tournament includes Muhammad Umar Bhatta as captain, along with players Akmal Hussain, Abdullah Ishtiaq Khan, Muhammad Abdullah, Muhammad Sufyan Khan, Ehtsham Aslam, Osama Bashir, Aqeel Ahmed, Arshad Liaquat, Muhammad Imad, Abdul Hanan Shahid, Zakaria Hayat, Rana Abdul Waheed Ashraf as vice-captain, Roman, Muhammad Murtaza Yaqoob, Muhammad Shahzaib Khan, Afraz, and Abdul Rahman. The standby players are Ali Raza, Muhammad Baqir, Muhammad Nadeem Khan, Abdul Wahab, Waqar Ali, Muhammad Arsalan, and Abdul Qayyum.
Pakistan’s upcoming matches in the tournament are as follows:
- August 4 – against Korea
- August 6 – against Japan
- August 7 – against China
- August 9 – against India
The team will aim to bounce back from the opening match defeat and secure victories in the upcoming matches.
