Sports Bulletin

Islamabad (Sports Desk):-Pakistan Juniors Hockey Team outclassed United States of America (USA) 18-2 registering the biggest goal margin at FIH Men’s World Cup, Bhubaneswar, India. Captain Rana Waheed and Abu Zar scored their international hat tricks. According to the details, Pakistan scored 18 goals against USA in FIH Junior World Hockey Cup. Registering the biggest goal margin of the event Pakistan played for the 9th to 16th position to improve the event ranking which Pakistan won. Captain Rana Abdul Waheed and Abuzar set up hat tricks for Pakistan. Captain Rana Waheed scored 4 goals, Abuzar scored 3 goals and Rizwan Ali scored 2 goals for Pakistan Juniors Hockey Team. While Umair Sattar, Roman Khan, Hammad Anjum, Mohibullah, Mohsin Hassan, Abdul Manan, Moin Shakeel and Abdul Rehman scored one goal each. Pakistani goalkeeper Abdullah Ishtiaq also got an international cap. In the event, he played his first official international match against the USA today. Pakistan has two matches left for the rankings. Pakistan will play the next match on December 2 for the 9th to 12th position rankings against South Africa.

Islamabad (Sports Desk):-The last day of action in the pool matches of the FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s Junior World Cup produced more high scores and a memorable battle for the remaining place in the final eight between Pakistan and Argentina. The pool stages were brought to a conclusion with Germany showing their class with an exhibition of attacking, creative hockey against Egypt. The competition so far has been notable for the high number of goals being scored in each match. Topping the goal scoring table at this point of the competition is Miles Bukkens of the Netherlands with 11 goals. Timothee Clement and Sanjay of France and India respectively are in second place with eight goals apiece. Korea 0-9 Spain (Pool C) It was a relatively quiet first quarter as both teams took time to settle into the match, but a goal from Guillermo Fortuno; the result of a nicely flowing passage of play gave Spain the advantage going into the first break. This seemed to galvanise the European side and goals then followed in rapid succession. There were two goals apiece for Ignacio Abajo, Pepe Cunill and Pau Cunill, with Eduard de Ignacio-Simo and Rafael Vilallonga completing the rout. Speaking after the match, goal scorer and Player of the Match Ignacio Abajo said: “Our first objective was to qualify for the quarter finals. Looking at our performances in the pool stage, we had two easy matches, where we knew we had to score a lot of goals. Then the match against the Netherlands was really tough. [Today] our first half was very bad, the second one really good. So now we have to keep going.” Spain finished second in Pool C, behind Netherlands, and so will face Germany in the quarter-finals. Korea will face Egypt in the classification matches. Talking after the match, Korea’s Team Manager Yoo Moon Ki, said: “It was a very hard match today, especially physically. In this pool, we won one match and lost twice. Our players have gained a lot of experience. We will continue to do our best until the last match and the players will keep great memories from this tournament.” Netherlands 14-0 USA (Pool C) Miles Bukkens continued to wow the hockey world with another consummate display of attacking hockey. His five-goal haul included four scored from open play, demonstrating his unerring instinct for the target. There were also hat-tricks for Brent van Bijnen and Luke Dommershuijzen as Netherlands swept away the determined, but sometimes naive, challenge of the USA team. The results mean that Netherlands top Pool C and will meet Argentina, while USA will be facing Pakistan. A buoyant Player of the Match Miles Bukkens said he felt the team had performed well in all the pool games and was pleased that they had conceded no goals so far. “We didn’t concede any goal again today. Scoring five goals today is perfect for me. My confidence is very high right now. I look forward to the quarter finals. We will work very hard, create a lot of chances and score many goals. We will win it.” Jatin Sharma of the USA said: “Coming in, we knew that Holland was a really tough opponent. In the first half, I think we were there. Then, we were a little bit down. But still we had to try, no matter what. We need to play with that fight throughout the whole game. If we do that, we can get some results.” Pakistan 2-4 Argentina (Pool D) Argentina booked their place in the final eight with a tensely played victory over Pakistan. The game was high tempo and high quality with plenty of creative play on display, but it was the South American side who prevailed and made the most of their opportunities. Argentina opened the scoring in the 10th minute through Bautista Capurro, and then it was goal for goal until Ignacio Ibarra put a fourth, decisive goal past Pakistan’s goalkeeper Waqar. The result means Argentina take second place in Pool D and will face Netherlands in the quarter finals. Pakistan will play the USA in the classification matches. Argentina’s Mateo Fernandez, who was voted Player of the Match, said: “I had expected a team that would be playing quite direct and attacking hockey, as they did. [For our next match] the Netherlands are also a team who will give everything to win the match. I think we have to play clever and also look for the win.” Pakistan gave their all in this game, a point emphasised by Abdul Rana in a post-match interview: “We are sad that we lost and didn’t qualify for the quarter finals but this is not the end. You will see, Pakistan hockey will rise back, and soon. We have youngsters here with no international experience, but the way they played today, we see there is capacity. We’ll learn from our mistakes. We’ll bounce back soon.” Germany 11 - 0 Egypt (Pool D) Having watched Argentina take all three points in the previous game, Germany knew they had to win their final pool match to ensure a top spot finish in Pool D. Head Coach Johannes Schmitz will be pleased by the way his team responded to the challenge as a fluid team performance saw the ball fly into the Egyptian net seven times before half time and a further four times to make the final score a convincing 11-0. Benedikt Schwarzhaupt continued his fine tournament with two goals – impressive penalty corner shots that both flew high past the goal keeper Mahmoud Saleem. Masi Pfandt, Matteo Poljaric and Player of the Match Michel Struthoff also scored twice and Schmitz will be pleased to see seven different players on the score sheet. Despite the scoreline, mention should be made of Egypt’s goalkeeper Saleem, who made courageous saves to break down several German attacks. Germany’s Michel Struthhoff was Player of the Match, scoring two classy goals for his team. Speaking after the game he said: “Overall we did a good job. We had some tough moments but overall we did a good job. We will be playing Spain. This will be a good game against a good team. Now we will have a rest and do some preparatory meetings and we will be ready.” Egypt’s Head Coach Abu-Talib Maggid said: “First of all, one part of the tournament is now done. Now we have another tournament of three games and we will take that one game at a time. We have learnt a lot because it was a tough pool and that is where you learn from the hard lessons. “In the next matches, we need to be clever at keeping the ball and if we play smarter and reduce unforced errors then we will have different results.” Egypt will play against Korea in the classification matches, while Germany will face Spain in the quarter-finals on Wednesday 1 December. The Junior World Cup action continues on Tuesday (30 November) with the first set of classification matches to decide 9-16th place being played. South Africa (3rd place Pool A) take on Canada (4th place Pool B) in the first match of the day at 10:30 Indian Standard Time (UTC +05.30). Then Pakistan (3rd Pool D) face USA (4th Pool C) at 13:30 before Poland (3rd Pool B) take on Chile (4th Pool A) at 16:30. The final match of the day sees Korea (3rd Pool C) face Egypt (4th Pool D) at 19:30. Quarter final action takes place on Wednesday 1 December when Germany will play Spain at 10:30; Netherlands face Argentina at 13:30; France versus Malaysia at 16:30; and Belgium will play India at 19:30. Results (Day-5): Korea 0-9 Spain (Pool C) Player of the Match: Ignacio Abajo (ESP) Netherlands 14-0 USA (Pool C) Player of the Match: Miles Bukkens (NED) Pakistan 3-4 Argentina (Pool D) Player of the Match: Mateo Fernandez (ARG) Germany 11-0 Egypt (Pool D) Player of the Match: Michel Struhoff (GER)

Lausanne, Switzerland (SB Report):-The Netherlands men earned a superb 2-1 victory over reigning Olympic, World and FIH Hockey Pro League champions Belgium on Sunday afternoon, giving the Dutch five points from a maximum six from their two encounters with the Red Lions in recent days. After claiming two points courtesy of a draw and a bonus point winning shoot-out success on Friday in Amstelveen (NED), the Oranje snatched all three points in their second clash thanks to first quarter field goals from Thijs Van Dam and Dennis Warmerdam, as Jeroen Delmee’s talented but inexperienced side triumphed over the top ranked team in world hockey. Van Dam fired into the roof of Belgian shot-stopper Loic Van Doren’s goal after just three minutes, with Warmerdam – who has made a stunning return to international hockey at the age of 27 after overcoming a rare form of cancer – doubling the Dutch advantage with a close-range poacher’s goal just three minutes later. With two times FIH Player of the Year Arthur Van Doren missing through injury, Belgium’s defence looked more frail than usual, with the Oranje being well worth their two-goal lead. The hosts would have been further ahead were it not for a trio of excellent saves from Arthur Van Doren’s younger brother Loic, who kept the Red Lions very much in the contest before Alexander Hendrickx pulled a goal back before half time. Belgium stepped up their game considerably in the third and fourth quarters but found clear-cut scoring opportunities difficult to come by thanks to some excellent Dutch defending. When the Red Lions did get their shots away, Netherlands goalkeeper Derk Meijer produced the goods in a debut to remember, most notably by denying the prolific Hendrickx with a wonderful stick save to tip a low penalty corner drag-flick around his right post.  The Red Lions pushed hard in the final quarter, but the Dutch held on for a fine victory that will give great confidence to this youthful but extremely gifted group of players. “I’m really proud”, said Netherlands captain Thierry Brinkman, who was named Player of the Match for the second time in three days. “Two very good games from our squad this weekend against what I think is still the best team in the world, so I’m really proud. "We need to put a lot of energy in our game, not just for one or two quarters but for a full 60 minutes. Every second counts in international hockey. I think that is the most important thing from this weekend.” FIH Hockey Pro League Sunday 28 November 2021 – Amstelveen (NED) Netherlands 2-1 Belgium – [Match 2 of 2] Player of the Match: Thierry Brinkman (C – NED) Umpires: Bruce Bale (ENG), Christian Blasch (GER) & Ben Goentgen (GER – Video)

Islamabad (Sports Desk):-Argentina ousted Pakistan 4-3 goals after a tough and thrilling match and qualified for the quarterfinals after brushing aside to Green Shirts in the World Junior Hockey Cup played at Bhubaneswar, India on Sunday under the auspices of International Hockey Federation (FIH). Bautista scored a field goal in the 10th minute of the game. In the 17th minute of the game for Pakistan, captain Rana Abdul Waheed ended the lead by scoring on a beautiful pass from his teammate Rizwan Ali on a penalty corner. Later, in the 20th minute of the game for Argentina, the player Ignacio scored a field goal and once again got the lead of Argentina. In the 28th minute of the game, Pakistan got a penalty stroke against Argentina. Taking advantage of this, Pakistan Junior's promising drag flicker Rizwan Ali scored a goal and once again pulled Pakistan out of the deficit of one goal and the score of the match was tied at that time by 2-2. In the closing moments of the second quarter, Argentina's Francisco scored the third goal through a field goal, giving Argentina the lead in the game once again Argentina's Ignacio once again consolidated the lead by scoring a field goal. In the 53rd minute of the game, player Aqeel Ahmed scored the third goal for Pakistan by scoring a goal on the beautiful pass of his teammate Roman on the penalty corner. The score remained 4-3 till the end of the match. Argentina succeeded in reaching the quarterfinals. Pakistan finished third in Pool D. In the next match for event ranking, Pakistan will be competing with USA for event ranking. The match between Pakistan and USA will be played on November 30 at 1:00 PM Pakistan time.

Islamabad (Sports Desk):- In the penultimate day of pool matches, Pakistan kept their hopes of a place in the last eight alive with a win against Egypt. The Pakistan team must now defeat Argentina if they are to finish in the top two in Pool D. France continued their fine form making it three wins from three matches with a convincing victory over Canada. South African hearts were broken when Malaysia snatched the win with just three minutes left on the clock. The final two matches of Day Four set the scene for the final eight when Belgium sealed top spot in Pool A, meaning they will meet India in the next round. The host nation beat Poland in the final match of the day to finish second in Pool B. The encounter will be a repeat of the 2016 Junior World Cup, where India beat Belgium to become Junior World Champions. Pakistan 3-1 Egypt (Pool D) Three goals for Ali Rizwan kept Pakistan’s hopes of qualifying for the quarter-finals alive as they beat Egypt 3-1 in the opening match of the day. The penalty corner specialist hit his stride in the 19th minute and then fired in two more in the third and fourth quarter to give Pakistan their first win of the competition. Egypt rallied with a fine goal from Hussein Awad, but the Asian team pressed on to take the all-important points. With Germany already qualified from Pool D, Pakistan now will face a must-win final match against Argentina, with both teams needing a win to qualify for the final eight. Pakistan’s Moin Shakeel, who was Player of the Match, was quick to point out the benefits of a good penalty corner routine. “Our coaches had asked us to take the short corners and we have the plus point in the short corners. We did it in the second half, so we got opportunities and we scored the goals. Now we are focusing on our next game, targeting that we have to win it to qualify for the quarter finals. This is our opportunity to get goal scoring and get the ball possession. We will play like this again against Argentina.” “I’m very proud of my teammates, said a reflective Mahmoud Seleem of Egypt. “They tried their best. They fought well. Today we were in better spirits. We tried to do efforts as a team, as one unit, and that showed a different story from two days ago.” France 11-1 Canada (Pool D) France continued their impressive progress through the competition with a convincing win over Canada. The French, under the guidance of Head Coach Aymeric Bergamo, have been nothing short of sublime as they have won three from three to secure a place in the quarter-finals. In this performance, they took the game to Canada, playing a high tempo game which only slipped slightly in the third quarter, when Canada were able to pounce on some sloppy play to score through Sean Davis. Speaking after the match, Player of the Match Antonin Igau said: “We played very well throughout the pool stage. So, we are very happy. Clinching the top spot of the pool is really hard, especially with India in the same pool. We’re very proud of this performance. Winning against India is always amazing, and even more so in India. So, for sure, this has given us confidence for the rest of the tournament." For Canada, coming to terms with three losses is tough but Christopher Tardif was philosophical about the result: “Looking at our pool stage matches, I think we did some good things but also some bad things. Our best performance is yet to come. Not a lot of our guys have international experience so there is so much that we’ve learnt such as the speed of the game, the fitness component, just much more. So, when we go back, we’ll become better hockey players and can play at the international level.” South Africa 3-4 Malaysia (Pool A) Malaysia secured a place in the last eight after a nail-biting encounter with South Africa. Malaysia took the lead in the 29th minute through Muhammad Khalid only to see South Africa bounce back just after half-time through captain Guy Morgan. The Asian side took the lead again in the 41st minute only to see two quick goals from Jared Campbell give the lead to the African contenders. Three yellow cards in the final quarter indicate the fiercely competitive nature of this game. Eventually, hero of the day for Malaysia was captain Akhimullah Anuar who put away a penalty corner to snatch the lead and put his team into the quarter-finals. Player of the match was Malaysia’s Kamarulzaman Kamaruddin. He said: “I’m very happy. My teammates and my coaches gave 100 per cent and give the spirit of the team. We fought all together. We fought for every ball, for everything in this match and so we managed to win. South Africa’s captain, Guy Morgan, said: “First, congratulations to Malaysia. But I think we let ourselves down today, especially with cards at the end. We had so many opportunities. We controlled the majority of the game. That’s fairly frustrating.” Belgium 3-0 Chile (Pool A) Belgium came into this match determined to seal a first place finish in Pool A and Lucas Putters answered that particular demand with a well taken goal in the third minute. Player of the Match Thibeau Stockbroekx doubled the lead just before half-time and Nelson Onana sealed it with a third in the 48th minute. The result means that Belgium finish top of Pool A, ahead of Malaysia on goal difference and will meet India in the quarter-finals. Reflecting on both today’s game and the next challenge, Belgium’s Thibeau Stockbroekx said: “We came here for the first spot in the pool. It was difficult but I think we did the right things. Today was a hard game for us. Really good defending from our opponents, so it’s difficult to score goals but we did manage. It’s always nice to play India here. I think it will be a really good opportunity for us to show our best level and see where we’re at.” The result means Chile finished in fourth place in Pool A and will meet Poland in their classification match. Nicolás Abujatum said his side were learning with every match: "I think we have had a pretty good evolution during the tournament. At the start we had to get into the rhythm, but I think we ended up playing a very good match against Belgium. We have to keep working on where we are failing, namely the short corners. “We haven’t accomplished our first goal which was to be in the top eight but we will keep on trying, set ourselves a new goal and finish as high as possible. It was a very good match to prepare for what is coming.” India 8-2 Poland (Pool B) The reigning champions and host nation overcame a determined and challenging Polish team to book their place in the final eight. Despite a scoreline of 8-2, this wasn’t an easy game for India and a number of yellow cards in the second half may concern Head Coach Graham Reid. That said, it was an energetic performance with goals flying past Maciej Wieczorek in the Poland goal with regularity. Sanjay, who has enjoyed a fine competition so far, opened the scoring in the fourth minute and added to his talk in the 58th minute. Player of the Match Sudeep Chirmako also got among the scoring players with a double. For their part, Poland will be left rueing a number of missed chances, something their captain Gracjan Jarzynski emphasised in the post-match interview: “The problem for our team is scoring from penalty corners, we should have scored more goals. We made simple mistakes in defence, but we also made lots of opportunities to score. “Now we have two days which gives us time to look at penalty corners and improve things. We have time to prepare and train for the next match against Chile. We will try to surprise them.” Player of the Match Sudeep Chirmako said: “This was an important match for us because we had lost one match but we executed well today. Regarding the quarter-finals [against Belgium], it is very important as it is elimination. But we have a plan and we will try to execute it.” The Junior World Cup action continues on Sunday (27 November) with the final four matches being played. While the final placings in Pool A and B are settled, there remains unsettled business in the remaining two pools. Korea take on Spain in Pool C in the first match of the day at 12:00. Indian Standard Time (UTC +05.30). The Netherlands then face USA, also in Pool C at 14:30. The Dutch must win this match to ensure they top the pool, because a loss – and a win for Spain – could see Spain overhaul them on goal difference. This is followed by an all-important match between Pakistan and Argentina in Pool D at 17:00. The winner of this game will take the second qualification spot behind Germany. The final pool match sees Germany versus Egypt in Pool D at 19:30. Results (Day-4) Pakistan 3-1 Egypt (Pool D) Player of the Match: Moin Shakeel (PAK) France 11-1 Canada (Pool D) Player of the Match: Antonin Igau (FRA) South Africa 3-4 Malaysia (Pool C) Player of the Match: Kamarulzaman Kamaruddin (MAS) Belgium 3-0 Chile (Pool A) Player of the Match: Thibeau Stockbroekx (BEL) India 8-2 Poland (Pool A) Player of the Match: Sudeep Chirmako (IND).

Islamabad (Sports Desk):-Pakistan juniors’ hockey team defeated Egypt 3-1 in the Pool D match of the World Junior Hockey Cup in Bhubaneswar, India on Saturday morning. Rizwan Ali scored brilliant hat-trick for Pakistan, as the Vice-Captain Moin Shakeel declared man of the match. According to the details, Pakistan Juniors defeated Egypt Hockey Team 3-1 in Pool D match of FIH Junior World Hockey Cup, as the flicker Rizwan Ali scored all three goals for Green Shirts on penalty corners. Awad Husein scored a field goal for Egypt in the 22nd minute of the game. The game started with lightning speed and both the teams attacked each other's goal post. However, Pakistan juniors played better and attacked the Egyptian goal post several times. Egypt's goalkeeper Mahmoud Saleem played a good game. Pakistan's drag flicker Rizwan Ali took advantage of penalty corners in the 19th, 32nd and 53rd minutes. Vice-captain Moin Shakeel was declared man of the match. On this occasion, Moin Shakeel said, “We followed the plan given by the coach and got penalty corners which we took advantage of”. He said that he would adopt a better match strategy against Argentina. Pakistan would play its last pool match against Argentina tomorrow, November 28 at 4:30 pm Pakistan time.

Lausanne, Switzerland (Sports Report):-The Jeroen Delmee coaching era started in positive fashion on Friday evening as his youthful Netherlands team earned a 2-2 draw against reigning Olympic, World and FIH Hockey Pro League champions Belgium, before claiming a wonderful bonus point by comfortably winning the shoot-out on a rainy occasion at the Wagener Stadium in Amstelveen. Dutch legend Delmee, in charge of his first Netherlands men's game after representing the team over 400 times as a player, will have been pleased by the performance of his inexperienced but hugely gifted group, with Thierry Brinkman wearing the captain’s armband for the first time and producing a Player of the Match performance for the hosts. Belgium were the better team in the first quarter and would have been ahead were it not for some good goalkeeping from Netherlands shot-stopper Maurits Visser. However, the Oranje grew in confidence as the game progressed and produced a dominant second quarter display against their illustrious opponents, being unfortunate not to take a lead into half time when they rattled the frame of the Belgian goal. The deadlock was broken five minutes into the third quarter when Terrance Pieters was on hand to fire home after a huge overhead had unlocked the Belgian defence, although the Red Lions needed just three minutes to pull level when Florent van Aubel pounced on a penalty corner rebound.  A Jip Janssen penalty stroke restored the Dutch lead in the 49th minute only for Alexander Hendrickx to answer back four minutes later, rattling the backboard with a trademark penalty corner drag-flick to send the match into a shoot-out for the bonus point. The Oranje dominated the one-on-ones, with goalkeeper Visser denying Florent van Aubel, Arthur de Sloover and Felix Denayer, while Thijs van Dam, Thierry Brinkman and Jonas de Geus were all on target as the Netherlands claimed the extra point. “I think we played pretty good, it was the first official game [since] the Olympics for us", said Netherlands captain Brinkman. “Against this team [Belgium] as well, it’s not so bad. We trained already for two months now.  New guys, a new coach, a new culture – I think it is good.” Belgium’s Arthur de Sloover said: “I think we could have done better. Holland played a really good game. They tried to put us under pressure, and they did well. I think we didn’t manage to play our own game as we can do, so now it is up to us to come back on Sunday [for the second match] and show another face.” FIH Hockey Pro League Friday 26 November 2021 – Amstelveen (NED) Netherlands 2-2 Belgium – (3-0 After Shoot-Out) [Match 1 of 2] Player of the Match: Thierry Brinkman (NED) Umpires: Christian Blasch (GER), Ben Goentgen (GER) and Bruce Bale (ENG – Video)

Islamabad (Sports Desk):-The Netherlands and Germany both claimed their second victories of the competition to join France in the quarter-finals of the FIH Odisha Hockey Me’s Junior World Cup Bhubaneswar 2021. South Africa and Korea were also winners, while Malaysia produced a magnificent defensive display to hold Belgium to a 1-1 draw. South Africa 5-1 Chile (Pool A) South Africa maintained hopes of reaching the competition quarter-finals, bouncing back from Wednesday’s defeat against Belgium to claim a comprehensive 5-1 triumph over Chile. South Africa will face Malaysia on Saturday knowing that a victory could be enough for a place in the last eight. Idrees Abdulla’s early goal gave South Africa a 1-0 lead that they did not extend until six minutes into the third quarter, when Peter Jarvis doubled the advantage. Chile hit back almost immediately thanks to Aguastin Amoroso’s penalty corner, but strikes from Cameron le Forestier (2) and Jacques van Tonder put the result beyond all doubt. “It feels good to win, especially after our loss against Belgium”, said Player of the Match Cameron le Forestier. “We decided to play our own brand of hockey, so I think that really worked down well for us, especially in the third and the fourth quarters. The two goals I scored are prime examples of what we practice at training.” Chile’s Nicolás Abujatum said: “It was a really hard game. We made some mistakes that cost us each of the goals and that ended up as the score shows. Each game teaches us the mistakes that we have to correct. Now we will start preparing our next match against Belgium and play the best we can.” Korea 5-1 USA (Pool C) Like South Africa, Korea were also beaten on their opening match – losing 12-5 in a bewildering clash with the Netherlands – but showed real character to claim a 5-1 victory over USA, maintaining their hopes of a quarter-final berth. First half goals from Lee Seungwoo, Jeong Jun Seong and Hwang Gyudong put the Koreans in control, with Kim Taeho’s second quarter double being split by a field goal from USA’s Wyatt Katz. Korea will have to defeat Spain in their final pool match in order to guarantee a place in the competition knock-out phase.  Yesterday we had a tough match against the Netherlands, where we conceded too many penalty corners”, said Korea’s Kim Taeho, who was named Player of the Match. “Today we’re happy that we could win the three points. Against Spain, we must win to hope to reach the quarter finals." USA’s Jatin Sharma said:“Yesterday we had a team talk. We all have to go out there. Don’t care about what environment we’re in. Forget the nerves. Play with confidence and show some pride. I think today we had a lot of mental lapses, with silly mistakes but if we fix that, we can have a much better game next time.” Spain 2-3 Netherlands (Pool C) A dramatic late penalty corner from Miles Bukkens gave the Netherlands a second successive victory, beating Spain 3-2 to guarantee their safe passage through to the competition quarter finals. A thrilling contest saw the Dutch open a 2-0 lead thanks to first half goals Sheldon Schouten and Guus Jansen, with Spain dragging themselves level in the third quarter through Borja Lacalle and Pau Cunill. Bukkens netted the winner with just one minute of the match remaining, giving the Netherlands six points from their opening two matches in Bhubaneswar. “First of all, very proud of the team, from the reserve players to the staff”, said Player of the Match Luke Dommershuijzen of the Netherlands. “So, well done everyone! We were leading 2-0 and then Spain came back but we believed in ourselves, showed a lot of character and scored the winning goal. You can only enjoy this!” Spain’s Alvaro Portugal said: “We’re a bit disappointed because we were 0-2 down and then we came back but we conceded a silly corner at the end of the match and lost the game. We now have to focus all our efforts in the match against Korea and we have to win! We have to go to the quarter finals.” Argentina 2-3 Germany (Pool D) Germany survived a frenetic final few minutes to claim a 3-2 win over Argentina, moving themselves onto six points and guarantee a place in the competition quarter-finals. Mateo Poljaric and team captain Benedikt Schwarzhaupt gave Germany, the six-time Junior World Cup champions, a two-goal lead before Bruno Stellato’s penalty corner halved the deficit midway through the third quarter. Hannes Müller restored the two-goal cushion on the stroke of quarter time, but Franco Agostini breathed new life into Argentina’s chances. However, it was not to be, leaving Argentina needing to defeat Pakistan in their final pool match to confirm their place in the last eight. “The last five minutes were pretty intense”, said Germany captain Benedikt Schwarzhaupt, who was named Player of the Match. “Argentina was a very tough opponent, very passionate. We’re very glad that we won today and ensured that we’ve got one foot into the quarter-finals. Now we need to recover and look at what went well today and what didn’t. Then we have our match against Egypt with the objective to finish on the first spot of our pool.” Argentina’s Facundo Zarate said: “We already knew that it would be a tough game, a very physical game. Now, we need to focus on the next match. Against Pakistan, like for the other teams, we expect a tough, physical and very skilful match. We’ll be ready to fight.” Malaysia 1-1 Belgium (Pool A) An extraordinary defensive effort helped Malaysia claim a draw against Belgium, with goalkeeper Shamir Shamsul producing a Player of the Match performance to earn his team what could be a precious point in their quest for a quarter-final berth. The result sees both teams move onto four points, one point ahead of South Africa going into the final round of pool matches. Belgium were dominant but fell behind on the stroke of half time when Amirul Azahar fired home a penalty corner rebound. The Europeans had to wait until the fourth quarter before finally restoring parity, with Thibeau Stockbroekx slamming home a brilliant penalty corner effort – the only time they managed to beat the superb Shamsul – to ensure the points were shared.  “Thank you for the award”, said goalkeeper Shamsul on receiving his Player of the Match prize. “We played well as a team to get the result. We will work hard in the next game [against South Africa].” Belgium captain Dylan Englebert said: “We wanted to win this game. It was not an easy game, they defended really well. Their keeper had a good game and they defended hard. We maybe lacked a bit of luck at the end. We were happy to come back at 1-1, but we wanted to score that last goal but it didn’t come today. Now we have a small amount of time to prepare for our next game [against Chile], so our focus is on that now.” The Junior World Cup action continues Saturday (27 November) with a further five matches being played. Pakistan take on Egypt in Pool D in the first match of the day at 09:30 Indian Standard Time (UTC +05.30) before the France face Canada in Pool D at 12:00. South Africa’s Pool A clash against Malaysia begins at 14:30, being followed by Belgium versus Chile, also in Pool A, at 17:00. The final match of the day sees reigning champions India face Poland in Pool B at 19:30. Results (Day-3): South Africa 5-1 Chile (Pool A) Player of the Match: Cameron le Forestier (RSA) Korea 5-1 USA (Pool C) Player of the Match: Kim Taeho (KOR) Spain 2-3 Netherlands (Pool C) Player of the Match: Luke Dommershuijzen (NED) Argentina 2-3 Germany (Pool D) Player of the Match: Benedikt Schwarzhaupt (GER) Malaysia 1-1 Belgium (Pool A) Player of the Match: Shamir Shamsul (GK – MAS)

Ali Ahmed Lahore (November 26, 2021):-Ranking cannot be improved without participating in the international hockey events, which requires resources, as national game has always had government patronage which won awards at international level, Secretary General, Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) Olympian Asif Bajwa said this while talking to media at Lahore Press Club on Friday. Asif Bajwa, who was part of 1994 Sydney World Cup gold medalist and Pride of Performance Olympian, further said, “Hockey is one of the Olympic amateur sports and amateur sports are supported by governments or institutions around the world. We are 3 times Olympic champion, 4 times world champion as well as Asian Games, Champions Trophy, Pakistan has made a name for itself and ruled in all over the hockey world. Pakistan Hockey has always had government patronage during the hay-days of hockey. Owing to non-participation in the pro-league made matters worse and the Pakistan team downed 13th to 17th position in the international rankings, “he further said. Secretary General PHF Asif Bajwa further said that other factors including the epidemic situation hindered the development of the national game and our teams could not get international exposure. “Now, the things have started to get better, Pakistan junior team is joining an international event like Junior World Hockey after eight years. He said that senior and junior teams couldn’t play at international level for more than two and a half years. PHF has been conducting training camps at the domestic level. Ranking cannot be improved without participating in international events. The annual budget of hockey in the neighboring country is 100 times more than our budget. We are lacking the finance too, “he concluded.

Islamabad (Sports Desk):-An astonishing 70 goals were scored on the second day of action at the FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s Junior World Cup Bhubaneswar 2021, with Spain setting a new record for goals scored at the event in a single match as the European side put 17 goals past the USA. The previous record was a 13-0 victory for India against Singapore at the 1982 Junior World Cup. Wins were recorded by Argentina, Netherlands, Spain, France and India, and an incredible display of attacking hockey in all five matches meaning no match saw fewer than eight goals rattling home, with the highest scoring matches seeing 17 goals scored. Argentina 14-0 Egypt (Pool D) Argentina got their Junior World Cup campaign off to a flying start when they netted 14 times against a determined but error-prone Egypt. Los Leoncitas captain Facundo Zarate started and finished the goal-fest with a well-taken penalty corner in the third minute of the game and a calm penalty stroke in the 58th minute. What followed was a clinical display of goal scoring as Argentina showed their quality with elegant, free-flowing passing and a wide variation of goal scoring and 10 different names on the score-sheet. Coach Lucas Rey will be pleased with his team’s performance but will also be wary of the tougher test his team will face in their next encounter with Germany. A happy Facundo Zarate speaking after the match, said: “We are very happy with the result. We trained a lot to be here and achieve such a result. We stayed very focused during the entire match. For the next match, we know that Germany is a very tough opponent. So, we will be there, ready to play against them and we will see how it will be going.” “We made a lot of mistakes with passes, but we learnt a lot in this game,” said Egypt’s Khaled Elgandy. “But we kept fighting until the last minute. We will look at our performance in details and try to do better in the next match. We came here to do our best.” Netherlands 12-5 Korea (Pool C) While the Netherlands will be happy to have started with a win and to have scored an impressive 12 goals, Head Coach Michiel van der Struijk will be concerned at the defensive errors that allowed Korea to score five times in response. In Miles Bukkens, the Netherlands have found a goal-scoring supremo. The forward showed speed, flair and awareness to score five goals. However, teams will also be watching the penalty corner proficiency of Jeong Jun Seong of Korea who was unerring as he sent the ball past Flip Wijsman three times. Five goal hero Miles Bukkens said: “We played a good game but several times we got a corner against us. They scored four penalty-corners, I think, so that’s bad and we can work on it. As to me scoring five goals, I like it. That gives me some confidence, which is perfect. Before the next match, we will rest because it was hot today, drink a lot and regroup with our team.” Spain 17-0 USA (Pool C) Argentina may well have thought they had posted the top score of the day, but Spain had other ideas. USA held the European side at bay for seven minutes but then the floodgates opened. Manuel Rodriguez scored twice in the opening quarter, Guillermo Fortuno scored twice in the final minute of the game and another 13 goals were scored in between. USA worked hard throughout but they were no match for the slick passing and speed of decision-making displayed by the Junior EuroHockey champions. Gerard Clapes scored four goals for Spain. he said: “I’m very proud of the team. We played as a team. We have good feelings for the next match against the Netherlands, which is very important. As we all know they are a very, very good team, and it will be very difficult. But it’s very important to win to ensure our path into the quarter finals and, if possible, to reach the first place of the group.”          USA captain Jatin Sharma spoke about the nerves that had struck his team as they took to the field: “I think coming out in the first quarter a lot of us were playing a bit with their nerves. That can happen, we all know that. Tonight, we will rewatch the game, talk about what we need to do better, get feedback from our coaches and implement that tomorrow.” France 7-1 Poland (Pool B) France continued their sparkling start to the competition with another energetic performance that put them firmly at the top of Pool B. Despite the scoreline this wasn’t a walkover as Poland defended hard and created their own chances. But France brought with them the confidence that the previous day’s victory over the host nation India had given them and they were strong and composed from the first whistle. The opening goal was within a minute of the start and a 3-0 cushion before the end of the first quarter effectively put the game beyond Poland’s reach. Corentin Sellier scored three goals for France, adding to the one he scored against India the previous day. Reflecting on the match against Poland he said: “It was important for us to be focused on this game, to put some intensity and play a good match. I’m really happy with our performance so far, both for the team and for myself. We want to continue in this competition and we will now focus on the next game.” It was a sanguine reaction from Poland’s Head Coach Jacek Adrian: “I said to my guys: ‘Well done!’. Because they tried in the second half to do something, to score more goals. It was a tough match for us. France is a very strong team. But we tried to show that we can play quite good hockey. Maybe not enough to win this match, but good. India is a special country for me. I used to be a national player and I came here six times. Lovely country, lovely food! Canada 1-13 India (Pool B) India bounced back from their loss at the hands of France to defeat Canada in a strong display of attacking play and clinical finishing. Despite Canada’s best efforts, India pushed and probed and then exploited the gaps that they created in the Canadian defence. The scoring opened with a goal from Uttam Singh, who later limped off with an ankle injury. The goals then came in a steady flow, with India keeping the pressure high until the final whistle. Both Sanjay and Player of the Match Hundal Singh scored hat tricks. Canada did rally on the stroke of half-time through a well-taken penalty corner from Chris Tardif but they were chasing shadows for much of the 60 minutes. India bounced back from their loss at the hands of France to defeat Canada in a strong display of attacking play and clinical finishing. Despite Canada’s best efforts, India pushed and probed and then exploited the gaps that they created in the Canadian defence. The scoring opened with a goal from Uttam Singh, who later limped off with an ankle injury. The goals then came in a steady flow, with India keeping the pressure high until the final whistle. Both Sanjay and Player of the Match Hundal Singh scored hat tricks. Canada did rally on the stroke of half-time through a well-taken penalty corner from Chris Tardif but they were chasing shadows for much of the 60 minutes. Struggling to make himself heard over the excitement following their win, Hundal: “We knew we had to come back and have a good performance today. For the next match [against Poland] it is all about building on this performance.” Canada’s captain Manveer Jhamat said: “It was an amazing game, unfortunately it was not the result we were after. It was a hard fought game and the guys worked right until the end. We were just unfortunate in the D at either end. For the next game, we will compete in the same way and we will move on from this. For every single game we prepare and we will be fully ready for the next game.” The Junior World Cup action continues on Friday (26 November) with a further five matches being played. All four of the teams in the opening two matches are seeking a first win. South Africa took on Chile in Pool A in the first match of the day at 09:30 Indian Standard Time (UTC +05.30) before Korea face Pool C rivals USA at 12:00. Spain will be seeking to continue winning ways in their Pool C clash against Netherlands, which begins at 14:30. This is followed by an intriguing clash between Argentina and Germany in Pool D at 17:00. The final match of the day sees Malaysia taking on Belgium in Pool B at 19:30. Results (Day-2): Argentina 14-0 Egypt (Pool D) Player of the Match: Facundo Zarate (ARG) Netherlands 12-5 Korea (Pool C) Player of the Match: Miles Bukkens (NED) Spain 17-0 USA (Pool C) Player of the Match: Gerard Clapes (ESP) France 7-1 Poland (Pool B) Player of the Match: Corentin Sellier (FRA) Canada 1-13 India (Pool B) Player of the Match: Hindul Singh (IND)