Pakistan Secures First Hockey World Cup Win in 16 Years, Defeats Japan 4-3
AMSTERDAM: The Pakistan hockey team has beat Japan 4-3 in a thrilling classification match at the FIH Hockey World Cup in the Netherlands, to make it a tournament win for the first time.
The victory is Pakistan’s first in a World Cup game in 16 years. The last time the national team won the tournament was at the 2010 FIH Hockey World Cup against Spain (2-1). In the subsequent era, Pakistan did not make it to the World Cup 2014, and then followed a winless campaign in 2018 World Cup.
The team achieved a stellar goalscoring performance in order to win.
Rana Waheed had two important goals as he played a key role in the brilliantly fought match against Japan, while Hanan Shahid and Hammad each netted a goal to give the hosts the 4-3 lead.
The breakthrough victory offers the green shirts a welcome lift after a year in which they have struggled to rise from a low spot in international field hockey.