Pakistan got off to a perfect start in the 2023 Men’s Hockey Junior Asia Cup with a 15-1 win over Chinese Taipei in their Pool A match in Oman.
Muhammad Sufyan Khan and the team’s vice-captain Abdul Hanan Shahid scored a hat-trick each with Arbaz Ahmed adding two and Bilal Akram, Abdul Qayyum, Abdul Rehman, Basharat Ali, Zikrya Hayat, Arshad Liaquat and Muhammad Murtaza all finding the back of the net once.
Pakistan’s first three goals all came from the penalty corners with Sufyan Khan putting his side ahead in just the third minute. Arbaz doubled the lead after just five minutes and Pakistan was up three goals in the 18th when Sufyan put away another penalty corner.
Eventually, by the 48th minute, Pakistan was up 13-0 when Chinese Taipei managed to finally find their only goal through Te-Ju Lin only for Murataz and Hanan to add two more to seal an emphatic win for their hockey team.
Despite the off-field troubles, the early signs have looked positive for Pakistan’s junior team thus far.
They will look to keep that momentum going when they face Thailand today who were beaten 7-0 by Japan in their opening fixture.
Pakistan leads the table after one match day on goal difference.
The top 4 teams from the tournament will reach the 2023 Junior Hockey World Cup later this year.
