Pakistan showed grit, says Tahir Zaman

KARACHI: Pakistan hockey team head coach Tahir Zaman said that the green shirts performed exceptionally well in the FIH Nations Cup 2025. Pakistan lost the final 6-2 against New Zealand on Saturday.

He stressed that they conceded six goals, but played with a brave heart and showed amazing fight, especially the second half where they not only scored two goals, but also displayed some attacking.

While talking to The News from Kuala Lumpur after the match, he said, “Given the challenging circumstances, the players showed unbelievable grit, fight and strength. Defeating teams like Japan and France is no easy thing,” Tahir said.

It has to be mentioned that only Wales and Japan are ranked below Pakistan, while all other participating teams have better positions in FIH rankings. He said that New Zealand played well, made good attacking moves and Pak defenders could not stop them due to which they scored five goals in the first 30 minutes.

Tahir said that poor defense was the main reason for the defeat. “Being the runners-up, we have showed that we can compete in big events if we get the chance to play in such events more often. Moreover, by beating France in the semi-final on the penalty shootout, we proved that we can win when it gets to the penalty shootout,” Tahir stressed.

He said that all matches were tough and players learnt a lot in every match and improved their game and performance after each match. He observed that attacking game of Pakistan in the tournament was the major factor in the success.

He said that the forward line played marvelously, made tricky moves, and broke the defense line. Among the positives, Tahir spotted players like Rana Waheed, Ammad Shakeel, Sufyan Khan, Abdul Rehman and several others who played clinical roles in bringing Pakistan so close.