Sports Bulletin

Doha, Qatar (PR): The global hockey community celebrated the pinnacle of international hockey tonight at the 50th FIH Statutory Congress in Doha, Qatar, where the game’s finest athletes, visionary coaches, and top officials were presented with the 2026 FIH Hockey Stars Awards.Taking place on the eve of the Congress, the awards honoured exceptional contributions across the 2025–26 international hockey season. Unsurprisingly, World Cup heroics proved decisive across multiple categories, with champions Argentina and Germany leading an illustrious roll of honour.Here is the complete overview of the 2026 FIH Hockey Stars Award winners and their standout achievements:FIH Player of the YearWomen’s Player of the Year: Sofía Cairó (ARG)Las Leonas’ dynamic midfield engine was the driving force behind Argentina’s historic march to the 2026 FIH Women’s World Cup title in Amstelveen. Cairó dictated tempo against the world’s elite midfields throughout the tournament, providing both crucial transitions and ironclad defensive cover. Her calm authority in regular time and clutch leadership during the high-stakes final against the Netherlands cemented her reputation as the premier playmaker in women’s international hockey. Additionally, her decisive shoot-out goal, that put Argentina over the top in the World Cup final and led to the historic celebrations, will be an image burned into the minds of Las Leaonas fans forever. Men’s Player of the Year: Tomás Domene (ARG) Tomás Domene produced an unforgettable individual campaign at the FIH Hockey Pro League and the 2026 FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup, finishing as the tournament’s top goalscorer in both premier events with an astonishing 21 and 10 goals respectively. With lethal finishing from penalty corners and open play alike, the Argentine striker delivered decisive multi-goal masterclasses that consistently turned matches in Los Leones’ favor and confirmed his standing as the world's most devastating marksman. His heroics earned him the best player of the World Cup award as well, where his 10 goals helped the Leones win just their second ever medal (bronze) at the Men’s World Cup. FIH Goalkeeper of the YearWomen’s Goalkeeper of the Year: Cristina Cosentino (ARG) Cristina Cosentino etched her name into World Cup folklore with an immortal performance in the 2026 Women’s World Cup final. After frustrating the high-powered Dutch offense through 60 minutes of regulation play, Cosentino became the ultimate shootout hero, affecting three crucial stops to seal a 3–1 shootout triumph and secure Argentina’s third World Cup title. Her composure and shot-stopping under extreme pressure made her the undisputed top goalkeeper of 2026.Men’s Goalkeeper of the Year: Luis Calzado (ESP) Spain’s historic run to the 2026 Men’s World Cup final was anchored by the brilliance of Luis Calzado. The Spanish custodian delivered game-winning saves throughout the knockout rounds in Wavre and Amstelveen, conceding almost nothing from open play and keeping Spain within striking distance right through their tight 1–0 loss against Germany in the World Cup final—in the end earning a historic first silver medal for Spain at the Men’s Hockey World Cup. FIH Rising Star of the YearWomen’s Rising Star of the Year: Zoë Díaz (ARG) At just 20 years old, Zoë Díaz proved fearless on hockey’s biggest stage. Having become a Las Leonas mainstay during the FIH Hockey Pro League 2024-25 season, Díaz injected explosive pace, aggressive pressing, and creative flair in the final third during Argentina’s gold medal-winning World Cup campaign, playing key minutes in the knockout rounds and demonstrating maturity far beyond her years on the way to lifting the World Cup trophy. This is Diaz’s second time winning the FIH Rising Star Award after first having won it as an 18 year old in 2024! 

Islamabad (Sports News): Pakistan have bronze medal in 20th Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya 2026: Pakistan Hockey Team Defeats Korea 5–3.Aichi-Nagoya / Gifu: Demonstrating a brilliant performance in the men's hockey tournament at the 20th Asian Games 2026, Pakistan defeated South Korea 5–3 after a thrilling contest to secure the bronze medal.In the bronze medal match played at the Gifu Prefectural Green Stadium, the Pakistan hockey team showcased aggressive play right from the start. In the 4th minute of the match, Sufyan Khan gave Pakistan the lead by scoring off a penalty corner. Following this, Abdul Rehman in the 30th minute (penalty corner), Rana Waheed in the 52nd and 54th minutes (penalty corner), and Hannan Shahid in the 59th minute scored impressive goals to seal the team's victory.For South Korea, Lee Gang-san (12th minute), Kim Jung-bok (18th minute), and Yang Ji-hun (25th minute – penalty corner) scored the goals.Pakistan Hockey Federation President Muhyuddin Ahmad Wani congratulated the national hockey team, players, and officials on this remarkable achievement and expressed hope that the team will continue to bring honor to Pakistan in the future.

PHF proposes to host first SCO Hockey Championship in IslamabadAbdul Jabbar FaisalISLAMABAD: President, Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF), Mohyuddin Ahmad Wani today (Tuesday) met here with the National Coordinators and representatives of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) member countries currently visiting Pakistan.According to an official of PHF, during the meeting, the PHF President briefed the delegates on the ongoing efforts for the revival and development of hockey in Pakistan, outlining the progress achieved so far, the reforms being undertaken by the federation, and the initiatives aimed at rebuilding Pakistan’s hockey structure and restoring its international standing. Wani also shared PHF’s intention to host an SCO Hockey Championship in Islamabad in the near future, bringing together the hockey teams of SCO member states on a common platform in Pakistan.The SCO National Coordinators and representatives expressed great appreciation and enthusiasm for the proposal and showed their interest in participating in the proposed championship. They welcomed the initiative, termed this an opportunity to promote sports, strengthen people-to-people contacts and enhance sporting cooperation among SCO member states.The PHF President thanked the visiting representatives for their positive response and said that the proposed championship would provide a new platform for the development of the game of hockey and greater sporting interaction among SCO countries. Further consultations and technical details regarding the proposed SCO Hockey Championship will be worked out with the concerned member countries in the coming weeks.

Sports Bulletin ReportMUSCAT / ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Junior Hockey Team showcased a stellar performance to defeat Bangladesh 3-0 in their Pool B match of the Men’s Junior Asia Cup 2026, sealing a spot in the semifinals and securing qualification for the upcoming FIH Junior World Cup. Pakistan's Ghulam Mustafa was declared the Man of the Match for his standout play.The Green Shirts adopted an aggressive posture right from the opening whistle. Forward Rana Waleed put Pakistan in absolute control early on, displaying clinical precision to score two back-to-back field goals in the 9th and 12th minutes of the first quarter.Bangladesh mounted several counter-attacks in an attempt to stage a comeback, but Pakistan’s defense stood firm throughout the contest. In the 52nd minute of the final quarter, Ghulam Mustafa capped off a brilliant field move to slot home Pakistan’s third goal and seal a comprehensive victory.Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) President Mohyuddin Ahmad Wani congratulated the national junior squad on their undefeated run, praise-worthy teamwork, and dual achievement of entering the semifinals and earning a berth in the FIH Junior World Cup. He extended his best wishes to the team for their upcoming semifinal clash.

Islamabad (Sports News): In a crucial Pool B clash at the Men’s Junior Asia Cup 2026, the Pakistan Junior Hockey Team showcased a dominant performance, thrashing Malaysia 5–2. With this commanding win, Pakistan maintains its unbeaten streak in the tournament, recording their third consecutive victory.Match Highlights & Comeback StrategyThe game got off to a tense start as Malaysia’s Mohammad Salmi struck in the 9th minute to give his side an early lead. However, Pakistan launched a blistering second-half comeback, dismantling the Malaysian defense:32' — Nadeem Khan scored a brilliant field goal to draw level at 1–1.36' — Abdullah Sami Rana found the back of the net to put Pakistan ahead 2–1.39' & 40' — Waleed Rana stole the show with back-to-back goals, firing Pakistan into a commanding 4–1 lead.41' — Ali Hamza added a fifth goal to complete a devastating scoring spell.Malaysia’s Gunaselan Dhirash pulled one back in the 54th minute, but Pakistan safely managed the closing minutes to seal an emphatic 5–2 victory.#PakistanHockey #JuniorAsiaCup2026 #JuniorWorldCup #RisingStars #GreenShirts #Unbeaten

Islamabad (Sports News): Germany became the first men's team to win back-to-back FIH Hockey World Cup titles on two separate occasions by successfully defending their crown with a 1-0 victory over Spain in the final in Wavre on Sunday.The Germans looked slightly more dominant in a hard-fought opening quarter. But the Red Sticks upped the intensity in the second and created several promising opportunities. Their best chance fell to Borja Lacalle, whose angled reverse-stick strike was kept out by an excellent glove save from Germany goalkeeper Jean-Paul Danneberg midway through the period. Danneberg was brought into action a few more times in the second quarter but ensured the sides were still level on 0-0 at half-time.Spain piled on the pressure at the start of the third quarter but couldn’t make it count. And with 80 seconds remaining in the period, Germany made the most of their only circle entry of the quarter, Michel Struthoff running across the goalmouth and popping the ball into an empty net after the keeper had committed early.  While Spain continued to rack up the circle entries and chances on goal, they simply couldn’t beat the German defence. They pulled off their keeper with just under four minutes to go in a last-ditch attempt to find the equaliser, but Germany held firm to secure their fourth World Cup crown.Germany’s Christopher Rühr was named Player of the Match.Earlier in the day in the bronze medal playoff, Argentina’s men stunned the Netherlands 2-1 to reach the podium for only the second time in their history.

Islamabad (Sports Desk): Day two of the FIH Hockey World Cup delivered plenty more action on Sunday, with significant wins, brave draws and spirited comeback efforts across the two venues in Belgium and the Netherlands.Former champions Australia enjoyed a solid start to their World Cup campaign, beating Ireland’s men 3-1 in their tournament opener. Joel Rintala opened the scoring in the seventh minute when his penalty-corner strike hit the post before rebounding off the goalkeeper and into the net, and he doubled the lead with another PC in the second quarter. Blake Govers then made it 3-0 from yet another penalty corner, scoring the 167th international goal of his career. The three-time world champions’ intensity dropped off in the second half, and Alistair Empey managed to pull one back for the Irish, popping it in after a penalty corner save rebounded off goalkeeper Ash Thomas’ helmet. Ireland then applied plenty of late pressure with Thomas being repeatedly put to the test, but the Kookaburras held firm to secure the victory.Australia’s Liam Henderson was named as Player of the Match and said afterwards: “It was good fun, good to get a first hit out, good win…”Later in the day, the Dutch men survived an early scare to beat New Zealand 5-1. The Black Sticks stunned the Amsterdam crowd when James Hickson put them ahead in the 23rd minute, but the second half belonged to the Netherlands. Tjep Hoedemakers levelled with some one-touch magic in the 35th minute, before Duco Telgenkamp fired home a rebound after a penalty-corner save to put the hosts ahead in the 41st. Thierry Brinkman then tapped in the third eight minutes later, Hoedemakers grabbed his second just a minute after that, and Koen Bijen completed the rout from a penalty corner in the 52nd minute, sending a relieved Dutch crowd home happy.New Zealand’s women stunned Belgium in a similar manner in their encounter in Wavre before the hosts rallied for a 5-2 win. The Kiwis took an early lead through a penalty-corner rebound in the fourth minute, but Stephanie Vanden Borre levelled five minutes later before Emma Puvrez put Belgium ahead in the 12th. Charlotte Englebert capitalised on a defensive error to make it 3-1 10 minutes later, before Hannah Cotter pulled one back for New Zealand with a reverse-stick strike on the counter in the 33rd minute. Justine Rasir then restored Belgium’s two-goal cushion from a messy penalty-corner rebound in the 41st, before adding her second six minutes later to seal the 5-2 win.Puvrez was named Player of the Match and said: “It was wonderful. Already in the first seconds, the public was awesome. The people were great and we felt the support until the end… and I’m very happy we could take a win home with the team.”England’s women recorded their first win in a World Cup opener since 2010 with a convincing 4-0 victory over South Africa. Despite a strong start from the African champions, England took control early, with goals from Darcy Bourne and Tessa Howard. Elizabeth Neal added a third from another penalty corner just 24 seconds before half-time, before Sophie Hamilton completed the scoring in the third quarter with a powerful reverse-stick finish from a lovely team build-up.Meanwhile, India and China’s women played out another World Cup thriller as the sides shared the spoils in a 2-2 draw. Navneet Kaur gave India the lead in the eighth minute, but Zhang Ying levelled from a penalty stroke just eight seconds before the first break. Deepika restored India’s advantage in the 25th minute with a penalty corner that took a vicious deflection off a Chinese defender, but Ma Ning’s expertly executed penalty corner in the 39th minute earned China a draw and a share of the points – the same result as the World Cup pool encounter between the same sides four years ago.Spain’s men made a fast start and held off a spirited South African comeback to claim a 3-1 win. Two first-quarter goals less than a minute apart, from Marc Reyne and José Basterra, put South Africa on the back foot early. Basterra added his second shortly before half-time to put Spain firmly in control. The South Africans responded with a stronger third quarter, finally breaking through when Mustapha Cassiem rocketed a penalty corner into the top-left corner. Despite sustained pressure, the Red Sticks' defence held on to secure the victory.In other action, the keepers at both ends were called upon in the opening quarter of the clash between Argentina and Japan’s men. The Argentinians broke the deadlock in the second quarter with Nicolas Keenan setting up Joaquin Toscani to provide the finish from close-range to take his team 1-0 up in the 22nd minute. That lead was doubled by Lucio Mendez after some scrappy play in the 54th minute. Maico Casella then helped Martin Ferreiro’s mis-hit shot over the line for their third goal four minutes later to wrap up a somewhat flattering 3-0 win after a brave effort from Japan that was just lacking the finishing touch.In the final match of the day, Spain’s women had two first-half goals disallowed against Ireland but still managed to take a 1-0 lead into the break, thanks to some excellent skill from Laia Vidosa to score in the 23rd minute. Hannah McLoughlin then provided the equaliser for Ireland off a penalty corner deflection in the 36th. Both teams scored from penalty corners in the third quarter, keeping matters level heading into the final period. But Spain’s captain Xantal Gine stepped up with five minutes to go, firing in the winner for her side off another penalty corner.

Islamabad (Sports Desk): Germany’s men and the Netherlands’ women got their FIH Hockey World Cup title defence off to the perfect start with opening day victories as the tournament kicked off across two host venues – in Belgium and the Netherlands.The German men raced into a three-goal lead in the opening eight minutes of their match against Malaysia after Jakob Brilla scored from a penalty corner in the fourth minute, Christopher Ruhr added a field goal in the fifth, and Justus Weigand finished off a great team effort in the eighth.The Malaysians did well to contain the Germans in the second quarter, which remained goalless. They then pulled one back through Abu Kamal Azrai in the 40th minute. But Germany regained their three-goal lead just before the final break thanks to a well-timed deflection from Justus Warweg and Paul-Philipp Kaufmann tapped in a fifth in the final quarter to wrap up the 5-1 win.Meanwhile, the Dutch women were given a stern test by Chile in their opening match but ultimately prevailed 2-0.It took the hosts until the 21st minute to break the deadlock, with Marijn Veen getting the perfect deflection on a Yibbi Jansen pass to put the Netherlands ahead. Jansen doubled their lead from a penalty corner in the 35th minute, but the Dutch attack was made to work for every opportunity as Chile, led by a superb performance from goalkeeper Natalia Salvador, put up a resolute defensive display.Marijn Veen was named Player of the Match and said afterwards: “It’s so amazing to play a World Cup in your own home city and in your own country. We are very grateful and proud and love all the orange people.”It was another massive defensive effort that saw the United States women pull off a brave draw against 2022 FIH Hockey World Cup silver medallists Argentina. Brisa Bruggesser put Las Leonas in front in the 11th minute before Emma DeBerdine found the equaliser just before the half-time break. The Americans then produced an impressive defensive display to hold on for the 1-1 draw and the all-important point.Earlier, in the first match of the tournament, Japan’s women did well to keep the Australians out for much of the first half of their encounter in Amsterdam. But the first goal of the FIH Hockey World Cup eventually came courtesy of an Australian penalty corner, with Claire Colwill dragging in the opener in the 27th minute. Colwill plugged in a second from Australia’s fifth penalty corner of the match in the 51st minute – again dragging the ball into the bottom right corner to seal a 2-0 victory.Colwill was named Player of the Match and said afterwards: “It’s a great start and I think to be the first game of the whole tournament is really exciting too, so hopefully the crowd liked it and got around us.”The first men’s match of the tournament saw India celebrating their Independence Day with a 3-1 win against Wales in Jacob Draper’s 100th match for the Welsh. India’s first goal came from a penalty corner with Sanjay’s flick squeezing through the keeper’s legs in the eighth minute.Harmanpreet Singh added his name to the scoresheet three minutes later from a perfectly executed penalty corner. And the prolific veteran completed his brace with another excellently taken penalty corner in the third quarter. Sam Welsh pulled one back for Wales in the 56th minute, but it was not enough to deny the Indians a confident 3-1 win.Harmanpreet was named Player of the Match and said: “I think we started very well and I’m very happy with one of our youngsters scoring a goal with a drag flick and as a team we managed the ball very well.”

Sports Bulletin ReportISLAMABAD: The South Korean hockey team beat Pakistan 6-2 in the final fixture of a 4-match series here at the Nasser Bunda Hockey Stadium, Pakistan Sports Complex on Friday. Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) created an opportunity for the Under-21 side to gain valuable international exposure against the experienced Korean lads.South Korea made a flying start, scoring twice in the opening quarter through Rim Jinkang in the third minute and Kim Hyeonhong in the fifth minute, both from penalty corners, to take a 2-0 lead. Pakistan reduced the deficit in the second quarter when Mohammad Ahmed scored a field goal in the 19th minute, leaving Korea ahead 2-1 at half-time.The visitors dominated the third quarter, converting three penalty corners. Lim Dohyun struck in the 37th and 40th minutes, while Kim Hyeonhong added his second goal of the match in the 42nd minute to extend Korea’s lead to 5-1.Pakistan responded immediately in the fourth quarter as Ghulam Mustafa scored a field goal in the 43rd minute. However, Kim Yong Bok sealed Korea’s 6-2 victory with another field goal in the 54th minute.Although the Under-21 side lost the final fixture, Pakistan’s senior team had already wrapped up the series with three consecutive victories. The national team’s overall performance throughout the series drew widespread appreciation from hockey fans, reflecting encouraging progress ahead of upcoming international competitions. 

Islamabad (faisal: The Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) has officially announced the 20-member national squad and team management for the FIH Hockey Men's World Cup 2026, scheduled to be held from 15 to 30 August 2026 in Amstelveen, the Netherlands, and Belgium.Pakistan SquadWaqar Ahmed, Mohammad Abdullah, Mohammad Sufyan Khan, Moin Shakeel, Abdul Waheed Ashraf Rana, Abdul Hannan Shahid, Zikriya Hayat, Arshad Liaqat, Adeel Latif, Ahmad Nadeem, Ghazanfar Ali, Ammad Shakeel Butt, Mohammad Hammaduddin Anjum, Rehman Abdul,Mohammad Afraz, Umar Mustafa, Abu Bakar Mahmood, Ali Raza, Abdul Manan, Mohammad Ammad, Waqar and Ali Raza.Team ManagementHead Coach: Bob Johan Veldhof (Netherlands), Assistant Coach: Christopher John Bowen (Great Britain), Assistant Coach: Adnan ZakirTeam Manager: Mohammad Awais QarniVideo Technician: Ashraf Sultan.