For the Green Shirts, Arshad Liaqat scored a hat-trick.
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia : In their second game of the Junior Hockey World Cup, Pakistan defeated New Zealand 4-0 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, thanks to a hat-trick from Arshad Liaqat.
Liaqat gave the Green Shirts the lead early in the game with goals in the 19th, 30th, and 54th minutes.
In the match’s 32nd minute, Pakistani captain Abdul Hanan Shahid also found himself on the scoreboard with a goal from a penalty corner.
On December 9, Pakistan, who are in Pool D, will play Belgium in their last group game.
The top two groups’ teams will advance to the quarterfinals.
The Pakistani hockey team’s opening Junior World Cup game ended in a 3-3 draw against the Netherlands, thanks to an incredible comeback.
After falling behind 2-0 at the half, Pakistan managed to tie the game thanks to goals from Arshad Liaqat, Sufian Khan, and Arbaz Ahmed.
Pakistan finished on the men’s Junior World Cup podium on each of the first five events played between 1979 and 1993, clinching gold at the inaugural event and claiming one silver and three bronze medals.
Since then, two fifth place finishes in 1997 and 2009 have been their best performance. The finished 11th at the Bhubaneswar 2021 World Cup, which was an historic low for Pakistan.
However, under the guidance of legendary Dutch coach Roelant Oltmans the team has turned a corner which was evident from the silver medal they secured at the Junior Asia Cup earlier this year.
Their lone loss of the competition came from a close 2-1 loss to India, where Abdul Rehman finished joint top scorer with nine goals, and Hannan Shahid won player of the tournament.
With four goals from penalty corner specialist Arbaz Ahmad during the Sultan of Johor Cup, the team recently placed fourth