KARACHI: Goalkeeping coach of the junior hockey team Olympian Ahmed Alam has said that Pakistan was unlucky to lose in the final of the recently concluded seventh Junior Hockey Asia Cup.

“We were disappointed by the defeat in the final. But we achieved the objective of qualifying for the next year’s junior World Cup,” he told reporters on his arrival from Melaka (Malaysia) on Wednesday.

“We dominated throughout the final but poor umpiring helped the home side win the title for the first time,” he said.

The Umar Bhutta-led Pakistan team went down 1-2 to Malaysia in the final.

“Overall, Pakistan played decent hockey and deserved to win. But a couple of poor decisions caused the damage,” Ahmed said, adding: “It was good to see Pakistan forwards scoring with consistency particularly thrashing Korea by scoring half a dozen field goals.”

The coach said junior team can be developed into a strong team for next year’s World Cup.—APP