• PHF has announced the squad for the Hockey Men’s Junior WC.
• The tournament will take place in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
• The team will be led by forward Abdul Hanan Shahid.

The 20-player roster for the forthcoming FIH Hockey Men’s Junior World Cup has been unveiled by the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF). The tournament will take place at Malaysia National Hockey Stadium in Kuala Lumpur from December 5–16, 2023.

Abdul Hanan Shahid, a forward, will be leading the team, while Roelant Oltmans, a head coach of Dutch descent, will be in charge. Oltmans has a history of coaching national teams, having worked with the men’s and women’s teams of the Netherlands, Pakistan, India, and Malaysia. Notably, he won gold in the Summer Olympics in 1996 while coaching the Dutch men’s team. He also led the Netherlands to victory in the 1990 Women’s Hockey World Cup and the 1998 Men’s Hockey World Cup.

Ali Raza (goalkeeper), Arbaz Ahmad, Zikhriya Hayat, Murtaza Yaqoob, Ghazanfar, Arshad Liaqat, Abdul Rehman, Hanan Shahid (captain), Abuzar, Arbaz Ayaz, Abdul Rafay (goalkeeper), Abdul Manan, M. Ammad, Ahtisham, Basharat Ali, Aqeel Ahmed, Ali Murtaza, Umer Mustafa, and Abdul Qayyum make up the entire team.

Lt Col (retd) Asif Naz Khokhar, the team manager, Olympian Shakeel Abbasi, head coach Roelant Oltamans, international Muhammad Ali, international Muhammad Asif, physiotherapist Muhammad Aslam, and video analyst Nadeem Lodhi are among the squad officials.

At a news conference, head coach Roelant Oltmans and chief selector Asif Bajwa talked about the team and stressed its importance for Pakistan’s future.

“This tournament holds immense importance as our junior side will pave the way forward for Pakistan,” said Bajwa.

“We’ve assembled a strong team. Our initial aim is to secure a spot in the quarter-finals,” stated Roelant Oltmans.

Pakistan’s group includes Belgium, the Netherlands, and New Zealand.

“While our group presents a challenge, I have faith in this team’s ability to deliver,” he added.

Participants in the under-21 Junior Hockey World Cup must be born after January 1, 2002. Competing for the prize are sixteen nations.

Pakistan qualified as a result of losing to India 2-1 in the championship game of the 2023 Junior Asia Cup in Salalah, Oman, where they placed second overall. Third-place finisher South Korea qualified for the Junior World Cup as well.

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