Pakistan edge Canada 5-4 to march into Azlan Shah final

KARACHI: There was a wave of jubilation in the country’s sporting circles on Wednesday when Pakistan edged Canada in a league game to enter the final of the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in the Malaysian city of Ipoh.

Pakistan’s 5-4 win against Canada that was followed by Japan’s triumph over hosts Malaysia meant that the tournament’s two unbeaten sides -- Pakistan and Japan -- will now meet in the final of the prestigious tournament.

This is the first since 2011 that former champions Pakistan have managed to reach the final of the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup. Wednesday’s win against Canada helped them maintain their top spot on the points table with ten points accumulated from three wins and a draw against Japan.

It seems that the return of Dutch master coach Roelant Oltmans has really lifted the spirits of the Pakistan team, which almost missed the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup due to infighting between two parallel groups of the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF).

Such was the confidence of the team that it opted to do some experimentation against the Canadians on its way to a close win. The Pakistanis started the match against bottom-placed Canada with their second choice goalkeeper Muneebur Rahman, but Canada put them under pressure by scoring two field goals with the help of Sean Davis in the 5th minute and Harbir Sidhu in the 17th minute.

Pakistan bounced back and short corner specialist Abu Bakar Mahmood scored goals in 28th and 29th minutes. After the half-time, Pakistan team’s experienced goalkeeper Abdullah Ishtiaq Khan took charge of Pakistan’s goal post.

Pakistan struck three goals one after another: Arshad Liaquat in the 36th minute, Rana Waheed Ashraf in the 44th minute and Ghazanfar Ali in the 45th minute. For Canada, in the 45th minute Sean Davis scored a field goal. In the 50th minute, Avjot Buttar scored a field goal to reduce the deficit. Six teams are participating in the event: hosts Malaysia, Pakistan, South Korea, Japan, New Zealand and Canada.