Pakistan in Champions Trophy semis after defeating Netherlands

Dawn Sport Published December 11, 2014

BHUBANESWAR: The Pakistan field hockey team on Thursday stunned critics by beating Netherlands 4-2 in the quarterfinal of the Champions Trophy being played in India.

“I believe in my team, I believe in my coaches, all the boys played really well and we did a good job today,” captain Mohammad Imran said during the post-match presentation ceremony. “I would like to thank the Indian crowd for coming in and supporting Pakistan hockey team,” Imran said.

Netherlands, a strong side and number three in world ranking, were outclassed by the 11-ranked underdog Pakistani team. Mohammad Irfan scored two goals, while captain Mohammad Imran and Umar Bhutta directed the ball into the net one time each.

“Our tournament starts from today,” said an enthusiastic Shahnaz Sheikh, the national team's coach. “I am thankful to the people of Pakistan back home who prayed for us.”

While talking to DawnNews, former Olympian Waseem Feroz said, “After losing to all major teams in pool games, this is really an inspiring performance. Now Pakistan should seek to get a place in the finals.”

“We last won the World Cup in 1994 and since then the state of hockey in the country is on decline ... federation needs to focus on nurturing talent from grass root. We don't see hockey being played in schools or colleges,” Feroz said, adding that the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) should work on establishing a proper system for the game.

Lack of funds and financial support from the PHF has been affecting the game and players in the country. The national team was only able to participate in the Champions Trophy due to a private sponsorship from a businessman and has also had little exposure this year, even missing the Azlan Shah tournament in Malaysia due to financial constraints.

“We've hardly played any hockey over the past two years,” a dispirited Sheikh had said a day before as Pakistan remained the only team to finish without a point in the preliminary league of the Champions Trophy. “It is for other countries in Asia, mainly India, to play bilateral series with us so that we can gain financially.”

Pakistan had a forgettable tournament before the quarterfinal, suffering an embarrassing 8-2 defeat to pool topper England, while also losing 3-0 to Australia and 2-1 to Belgium in pool A matches.

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ABDUL

Dec 11, 2014 01:11pm

well done guys .

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AdHawk

Dec 11, 2014 01:14pm

Wow, that WAS stunning, to say the least.

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saleem

Dec 11, 2014 01:17pm

Late but good job, keep it up.

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Muhammad Ali

Dec 11, 2014 01:22pm

Great job

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Sam

Dec 11, 2014 01:22pm

BRAVO GREENS

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Waseem Sarwar

Dec 11, 2014 01:30pm

That's awesome. well done green shirts.

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Mustafa

Dec 11, 2014 01:31pm

How do u qualify for quarter final after loosing all the pool matches

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Tilikum

Dec 11, 2014 01:32pm

They lost three pool games ! How on earth Pakistan team qualified for the quarter-finals ?

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AdHawk

Dec 11, 2014 01:33pm

India can take the lead by bringing back the original 'natural turf' hockey. They now have the financial and organizational muscle to do so. Just as India refuses to accept DRS in cricket they can say no to Astro-turf. Bring the sport back to the neighborhood dirt field.

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amber

Dec 11, 2014 01:36pm

awsome

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Ossy

Dec 11, 2014 01:36pm

Awesome... dont think we have beaten Netherlands in over 20 years!! It is almost as if Pakistan just hussled Netherlands by playing below par in its pool matches, especially against Belgium (2-1) and England (8-2)!!!

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rasheed

Dec 11, 2014 01:44pm

congrats boys....

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Rizvi

Dec 11, 2014 01:45pm

Bravo Guys, YEs we dont have funds to even send you people to play big tournaments, we cant demand good performances from you guys when we dont have any structure and pay zilch to you guys. Still these one-off wins deserve nothing but appreciation.

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shuaib

Dec 11, 2014 01:48pm

What a surprise! Keep it up boys.

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Ample reverence for Saudis

Dec 11, 2014 01:55pm

@Mustafa Go through the tournament format if you have even least interest in Hockey!

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Bad Mash

Dec 11, 2014 01:56pm

Well done, Pakistan. That really is a stunner of a result. Btw, for those who keep trashing India, no word on the tremendous crowd support? You guys never fail to remind us of the stray support our cricketers got when we last toured.

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Waseem Sarwar

Dec 11, 2014 02:00pm

@Tilikum , new format. I remember few years back when Pakistan team was playing in world cup qualifiers, they won all three pool matches but then lost to Korea in quarterfinals and crashed out of world cup qualifying. This new format is a harsh one for teams who win everything in pool matches.

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turbo

Dec 11, 2014 02:02pm

few years ago I saw our team getting beaten by Netherlands in a friendly match held in Rotterdam. And now I see us beating Netherlands in the champions trophy. kudos team green!

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Patriotic

Dec 11, 2014 02:04pm

Pakistan participation financially supported by a private businessman? Firstly a big thank you to this gentleman. Secondly where does all the money given to PHF go? Shocking state of affairs for our country. We need a complete overhaul. Wake up nation, PLEASE for the sake of our country and next generations

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Pakistani

Dec 11, 2014 02:13pm

Sheikh Shahnaz (PAK coach): We did excellent today. We have changed our game plan and got back to Asian style hockey which means classical play. I’m very proud of my team, congrats to them.

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ashok kumar lal

Dec 11, 2014 02:30pm

Paki players never cease to surprise.Well done.

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Shehzad Zafar

Dec 11, 2014 02:44pm

@AdHawk Its not astroturf rather abolishing the offside by eurpean teams made the team of Asia to loose the matches.

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Burki

Dec 11, 2014 02:47pm

I haven't been following hockey in a long long time but don't understand what kind of format CT is being played under. I mean you lose all your pool games yet somehow get into knockout rounds, go on to edge out a solid team like Netherlands. Isn't this highly skewed format? What incentive does it give teams to play good games in qualifying rounds then?

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Z Khan

Dec 11, 2014 03:00pm

Great performance , good luck for semi final

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Adnan

Dec 11, 2014 03:13pm

Good comeback after getting thrashed 8-2 by England. I saw the Pakistani team win the Sydney World cup in 1994, but the cupboard has been bare ever since. Not surprising considering the financial situation of the sport. Amazingly the two undefeated teams are England and Belgium. India might also make it to the semi-final after defeating Holland in the pool match with the help of local crowd support.

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zak

Dec 11, 2014 03:19pm

Shenaz sheikh should be changed. The team seems to be running on its own steam. Sheikh has loser mindset.

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Junaid

Dec 11, 2014 03:20pm

now that's called Pleasant surprise for Pakistan and a nasty one for Netherlands. The latter can say that they were hard done by this format. Meanwhile, thanks to Indian crowd for supporting the green shirts. If Pakistan and India have to win consistently then our players have to increase stamina and physical fitness tremendously. There is no other way.

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Awais Ali

Dec 11, 2014 03:26pm

Pakistan has won 4 world cup, 3 champion trophies, 3 Olympic Gold medals, 8 Asian titles and many more and has conspicuous evidence on world hockey. We were out of 2014 world cup but now we are in sami final of champion trophy. This is Pakistan for you no one else can do it.

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Lefty

Dec 11, 2014 03:49pm

@Adnan Holland/Netherland/Dutch is same :p

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Neha

Dec 11, 2014 03:53pm

good job pakistan team,we hope you will be financially strong to build a strong future

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Shri

Dec 11, 2014 03:58pm

@Tilikum Thats because there are 8 teams in the tourney and all 8 play the quarters. The first round was only to seed the teams eg. Pakistan, last in Group A played (and amazingly defeated!!) Netherlands who finished first in group B

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Manish Garg

Dec 11, 2014 04:01pm

What a Strange Format. A team loses all 3 matches, one with huge margin, still gets into SEMIS as earlier performance is not taken into account to move forward. So one bad day for a good team, and one good day for a bad team makes the whole difference and not the regular performance.

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Nasser

Dec 11, 2014 04:17pm

Most unexpected, and hence well done boys. However, the unfortunate truth is that Pakistan hockey has been in constant decline for the past 30 years, since winning the Olympic Gold in 1984 - the 1994 win was a blip (remember 1986 WC when out of the 12 teams Pakistan came 11th and India 12th). Pakistan's performance earlier in the tournament is its sad but true reflection - they failed to even qualify for the WC (they have won 4 of the 13 to date, though). Pakistan obviously gave everything they could, knowing they have nothing to lose, and caught Netherlands off-guard. Beating Netherlands 4-2 makes great unexpected news for us Pakistanis today. I hark back to the 1968 Olympics when Pakistan beat Netherlands 6-0; and Pakistanis did not even notice. Shahnaz Sheikh, the Pakistan coach was a world-class player of the 1970's, when Pakistanis had quite a few of them. We do not have even one now. But those were the days of Air Marshal Nur Khan who did so much for Pakistan squash and hockey, but hardly any of us even remember him now.

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rabz

Dec 11, 2014 04:26pm

MashaAllah. Well done and warm congratulations!

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Imtiaz Hussain

Dec 11, 2014 04:49pm

what a pathetic setup of Champions trophy, 8 teams participated in CT, all teams automatically qualify for quarter final whether they lost their all round matches like Pakistan Hockey team, with heavy margins One day good performance of Pakistan Hockey team go for Semi final and Holland won all round matches and top team out from the tournament after one defeat, amazing for me Well done Pakistan Team, keep going in Semis

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babu true lover

Dec 11, 2014 04:50pm

Rocking stuff guys... Hope we have an Indo Pak finals which benefits the national games of 2 erstwhile hockey powerhouses

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Tamilselvan

Dec 11, 2014 05:01pm

Congratulations to the team. This win should boost the morale of the team. Sportsmanship prevailed when the captain and coach thanked the Indian fans for their support during the game. After all we are brothers from the same land and culture though one has gone astray .

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Muhammad Farhan Athar

Dec 11, 2014 05:12pm

@AdHawk true

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fairy

Dec 11, 2014 05:13pm

after reading the statement of our coach seeking help from Asia for saving Pak hocky i felt really sad. I dont know much about hocky but i do follow the performance of hockey team. As many has commented that we won because we played our Asian stayle hockey. Now reading this news in context of coah's statement made me think, Do we need foreign HELP or Do we need to focus on our natural style of play to save out national sport.

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Last Word

Dec 11, 2014 05:26pm

It is indeed heartening to see Pakistan beating a much higher ranking opponent to reach the semi-finals. Let us hope India beats Belgium with both neighbours playing a semi-finals which Pakistan coach hoped quite sportingly which needs to be appreciated.

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Payal

Dec 11, 2014 05:39pm

Superb. Awesome. Well played, Pakistan. Best wishes from India :-)

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Rav

Dec 11, 2014 05:49pm

Thanks Captain and coach for acknowledging support from Indian crowd. Be like this, people of this land. Want Pakistan in final with India.

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Ali

Dec 11, 2014 05:49pm

@Mustafa If u know the logic behind this kindly share with me ,how a team can reach quarter final losing all matches

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Hassan

Dec 11, 2014 05:55pm

@Mustafa This is an eight side tournament so the results of pool matches do not matter. They were like warm up matches.

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Alam

Dec 11, 2014 05:55pm

@Bad Mash support from Indian crowd for Pakistani team is appreciated. Such gestures can have good effects on the relationship between two countries.

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MSMS

Dec 11, 2014 06:00pm

Well Done Pakistan !! Was surprised most Indians Supporting Pakistan . Strange but good for hockey in subcontinent

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Dec 11, 2014 06:11pm

1: Well done Boys!!! 2: we need 1 or 2 more surprises. 3: if we want to see hockey at best we will need to improve physical fitness, skill and grounds. ( politics out of Sport and no uncle/aunt/son etc relation allow in selection). 4: salary cap with PHF / department jobs need to improved and crruent job are not good enough. (GOVT. Just need to ask corrupt take less after fraud if can't fund). 5: recognize hockey player at the Level of Cricket player, if we do that hockey will recover within 3-5 years. We still have talent that need to be polished.

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GKBaloch

Dec 11, 2014 06:12pm

"participate in the Champions Trophy due to a private sponsorship from a businessman" Thank you Mr. Businessman,thank you , thank you.

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Imxohail

Dec 11, 2014 06:13pm

@Mustafa Because there are 8 teams in total. Pools were just played to decided which team to play whom in the QF. Lost all the matches and then won QF and reached SF. Can`t believe it`s an international tournament.

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jawed1

Dec 11, 2014 06:22pm

Great performance by Pakistan. True grit, very tight defence throughout and killer attack. Absorbed Dutch pressure and struck beautifully. Apart from the result, team played like professionals, not loosing hope when down 0-1 and executing the penalty corners superbly. Well done team.

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Fareed

Dec 11, 2014 06:25pm

We all sound jubilant, rightly so but the question remains - if it were n't for the generosity of the businessman who provided funds, our boys will be sitting home. We need to send a note of thank you to this gentleman.Our PM, Mian Nawaz Sharif is only partial to Cricket, to save hockey, nation's business community will have to pitch in .

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Debadutta

Dec 11, 2014 06:32pm

Did you notice the fact that the Indian crowd came out in large numbers and supported the Pakistan team? This is commendable and worth mentioning. Tells a lot about the Indian people who always support a good entertaining team.

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Karachiwala

Dec 11, 2014 06:32pm

I am astonished that most fellow countrymen are so negative here ,no stead of appreciating th fact that we outclassed the Dutch and in the semis yet everyone is complaining about the format, I have frustratingly watched all games I could watch and today was such a great day when everything worked Th defense was so composed on waves of Dutch attacks, the counters well coordinated and the nhiAH ball strategy worked to perfrction, even the setup on PCs were a treat,nth is was hockey classics relived yet no one in Pakistan was even watching Didn't the Dutch know this was a knockout match ? Aussies were third in our group too but won to get thru to the semis , no Australians are complaining Wake up Pakistanis ,hockey is a great game

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AIR

Dec 11, 2014 06:54pm

No wonder hockey is in dire state globally. What kind of useless and nonsense formate is it? People who have formulated this new formate need psychiatric evaluation. Anyway I would like to say well played apparently Pakistan

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Kabir Sidhu

Dec 11, 2014 07:51pm

Love Green shirts always! Love from Ludhiana...

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Jawwad

Dec 11, 2014 08:49pm

You lose all your matches and still qualify for quarter and now end up in semis. How did Holland and Australia approve the format?

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Last Word

Dec 11, 2014 08:53pm

Congratulations to both India and Pakistan as they are going to play semi-finals on Saturday and one team would reach the finals after a long time.

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Sunil USA

Dec 11, 2014 09:11pm

India meet Pakistan in Semis , Game that must to watch-- I just love it

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Jamal Syed

Dec 11, 2014 10:05pm

@Bad Mash - Thank you for the support! Just so that you know Indian cricket players don't get sporadic support. We in Pakistan follow their careers throughout. I knew the stats of each Indian player from 70s and 80s when I was growing up. I still try to follow but do not get enough time though. We stayed at the entrance of National stadium for hours to get just a glimpse Gawasker and team. Sachin's first game in Karachi is etched in our memories. We are true cricket fans and cricket comes before politics to us.

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Dev

Dec 11, 2014 10:09pm

To all those people who don't realise and have never played a competitive game. It is fantastic achievement by the players and believe me the goal scorers will have a hard time sleeping tonight because they have played fantastic and their body will be aching.

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Rahul

Dec 11, 2014 10:15pm

Ind vs Pak semi-final..come on boys bring back the glory..!!

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Janayed

Dec 11, 2014 10:25pm

@saleem Better late then never

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kalim

Dec 11, 2014 10:32pm

unbelievable!

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Truth

Dec 11, 2014 10:53pm

Format must be changed. It is just not fair a team loosing three matches decisively conceding as many as 15 goals scoring only 7, winning only one match should land in the semi-finals. It should be round robin and based on points top four should move to semis.

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Sana Batool

Dec 12, 2014 12:49am

I am hockey fan I love me national game.

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pakistani

Dec 12, 2014 01:11am

Pakistan does not deserve to be in semis over Dutch after loosing all the league games Anyways, now wish you best of luck against India.

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Haris Khan - USA

Dec 12, 2014 03:54am

India-Pakistan semi Final!!!- Is there anything better? (well, may be India- Pakistan final but will take whatever comes our way). Who said the rivalary is bad, its rather healthy. Best of luck to both the teams!!

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bloggervat

Dec 12, 2014 07:15am

@Mustafa Please read the tournament rules. Pool stages are only for finalizing opponents

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bloggervat

Dec 12, 2014 07:32am

@Adnan And we did beat belgium, not only because of the crowd. Crowd is just the 12th or 13th man. It was because of our game and nerves of steel the players had. We were mentally fragile in all this and the one moment which made us mentally tough was our win over New Zealand in the Commonwealth Games semi finals. Sardar was banned and NZ were 2-0 up, we had the mental tenacity to claw back and beat them 3-2. From that moment, there was no looking back. World cup was not a good outing but again our performance was not that bad to get 9th place. 2 close matches against Eng and Belgium did it...And also the management. Ever since the control for hockey was given to Hockey India and the IHF was de recognized, it became easy to manage the game and bring in results. The FIH needs to be given due credit for organizing major tournaments like Hockey World League, World Cup and Champions Trophy. And most of all, giving a clear window for HI league which gave an opportunity for players to clash with the worlds best. Pak should have had all the facilities, but your internal security and political situation just buried all the talents you would have produced in the game and the benefits as well.

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bloggervat

Dec 12, 2014 07:33am

@Manish Garg Its the same with India, Aus and Germany :) So don't crib. Thats the way the game goes.

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bloggervat

Dec 12, 2014 07:40am

@Imtiaz Hussain It is good because it was setup wherein all teams play against each other. Which was badly missed out by subcontinental teams, especially Pak.

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Badar Shakil

Dec 12, 2014 11:11am

BRAVO GREENS, That's awesome. well done green shirts - Pakistan Zindabad. Keep this performance also in the Future.

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Adnan

Dec 12, 2014 11:54am

@bloggervat we lost all games before the quarter finals. Belgium 2- Pakistan 1. The format is such that whatever happens in the pool stage doesn't matter all 8 teams progress to the quarter-final, which was fortunate for Pakistan. Unlucky for England and Belgium loosing one match and you're out of the tournament. Looking forward to the Pakistan-India semi-final also the Germany- Australia match and a chance for Australia for an unprecedented 6th straight title.

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Dr. Salaria, Aamir Ahmad

Dec 12, 2014 07:34pm

Good win for the green-shirts.

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