Pakistan’s Green-shirts will start their Champions Trophy campaign against Great Britain in New Zealand
Pakistan’s national senior men’s hockey team will be up against England in their opening game of the International Hockey Federation (FIH) Men’s Champions Trophy, scheduled to be played at the North Harbour Hockey Stadium in Auckland, New Zealand, from December
3 to 11.
Initially, the tournament was to be held in India but due to some power sharing dispute between the two governing bodies - Hockey India (HI) and Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) - over the governance of the national sport, FIH decided to shift the event from
India to New Zealand.
The tournament will feature eight of the world’s top hockey teams that have been divided into two pools. The green-shirts have been placed in Pool A along with the reigning world champions Australia, Spain and Great Britain, while Pool B consists of Netherlands,
Germany, Korea and the hosts, the Black Sticks Men.
The green-shirts’ will encounter their opening challenger, England, on December 3 followed by their next game against Spain on December 4. Finally, they will meet the current world champions, Australian Kookaburras, on December 6 before the second round
sets off.
Last year’s Asian Games gold medalists are training very hard to bring the prestigious hockey trophy back to Pakistan, who had won it in the past in 1994.
Lately, the national team seems to be in great shape as it managed to reach the finals of the previous two international events – Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in Malaysia and the Asian Champions Trophy in China – where the team lost with a very narrow margin to
Australia and India respectively.
“Our preparations are on track. The tour of Australia will give us solid preparation which is also important for the youngsters in the team,” stated Khawaja Junaid, the manager of the national hockey team.
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