Arshad shines in Pakistan’s win over New Zealand

ISLAMABAD: Arshad Liaquat scored a hat-trick as Pakistan blanked New Zealand 4-0 in the Junior World Cup Hockey match in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) Thursday.

In what turned out to be a comfortable win for Pakistan, Arshad scored thrice in a field effort to pin down the Kiwis and put curtains on their progress to the next stage. Arshad scored in the 19th, 30th, and 54th minutes to achieve the hat-trick. Team captain Abdul Hannan Shahid struck on the indirect penalty corner in the 32nd minute to complete the tally.

“I dedicate this win to my late coach Rana Zaheer. He helped me reach this stage. It was a big win for Pakistan. Our head coach told us to win the match by four goals and we achieved that target,” Man of the Match Arshad Liaquat said.

He said he gave his heart out in the match against New Zealand. “I made my best efforts to convert opportunities into goals and will continue to do the same in matches to come. What we want is to win the World Cup for the country. Every player is ready and focused to make the best use of his abilities. We are confident of playing with the same spirit against Belgium on Saturday,” Arshad said.

Pakistan require a draw or a win against Belgium to make it to the quarter-finals of the Junior World Cup. “We will go for a win and will want to score six goals against Belgium to go on top of the table. We will go for a big win against Belgium and not play for a draw,” Arshad said.