JOHOR BAHRU: Pakistan defeated Russia in the ninth Junior World Cup Hockey tournament, Geo news reported Sunday. Pakistan played its first match against Russia in the eight-match tournament at 3.30pm (PST) at Johor Bahru, Malaysia while the other three matches also at Johor Bahru include Belgium vs Egypt, Korea vs US and England vs Malaysia. In Singapore, Japan will be taking on South Africa, Netherlands will face Singapore, New Zealand will oppose Poland and Germany will take on Chile. The tournament featuring 20 countries has teams divided into four pools. Pakistan is placed in Pool ‘A’ along with Russia, Egypt, defending-champions Argentina and Belgium. Pool ‘B’ comprises Australia, Chile, Germany, Japan and South Africa while England Korea, Malaysia, Spain and US make up Pool ‘C’. Meanwhile, Pool ‘D’ boasts of India, Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland and Singapore. Pakistan’s second match will be against Egypt on June 8, third against Argentina on June 11 and fourth against Belgium on June 12. Pakistan won their only Junior World Cup title in the inaugural event in 1979 by beating West Germany 2-0 in Versailles, France. The following editions saw them winning one silver and three bronze medals and then no medals at all as they gradually lost grip on the national sport. The team that won gold in 1979 was coached by Jahangir Butt and captained by former Olympian Manzoor Jr with Kaleemullah and Rashidul Hasan as the other stars in the side. The event concludes on June 21.
Squad:
Goalkeepers: Imran Shah and Imran Butt.
Fullbacks: Mohammad Ateeq, Kashif Ali and Amir Shahzad.
Halfbacks: Mohammad Irfan, Fareed Ahmad, Mohammad Rashid, Mohsin Bilal and Sibtain Raza.
Forwards: Waqas Sharif, Shafqat Rasool (Captain), Abdul Haseem Khan (VC), Abbas Haider, Mohammad Zubair, Inayatullah, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Taufeeq, Hassan Akhtar and Azlan Khan.
Officials: Khawaja Junaid (head coach), Danish Kaleem (coach), Ahmad Alam (goal-keeping coach), Faiz-ur-Rehman (manager) and Dr Asad Abbas Shah (physio).
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