As the year 2024 is about to end, Pakistan once again failed to regain its lost position in sports like hockey and football while the government support is limited to cricket only.
Despite being Pakistan’s national game – hockey – has not been able to gain popularity this year either.
Pakistan team which once the role model in the world of hockey, with three Olympic gold medals, a world record of four World Cup wins, eight Asian Games gold medals, and three Hockey Champions Trophy titles, but could not regain the lost glory and status.
As the year 2024 began with disappointment for hockey fans as New Zealand shattered the chances of Pakistani team to qualify for the Olympics – third time in a row – with 3-2 defeat in the qualifying event in Muscat.
Failed to Qualify for 5th Hockey World Cup
After a disappointing performance during the qualifying at Muscat, Pakistan turned its focus to the 5th Hockey World Cup, but luck did not favor the national team.
The team began the tournament with a strong 11-5 victory over Nigeria, igniting hopes for a successful campaign.
However, the excitement was short-lived as Pakistan suffered a 5-3 defeat to the Netherlands, former world champions.
Despite the impressive win over Nigeria, losses to the Netherlands and Poland ended Pakistan’s chances of advancing in the tournament.
However, the team found some redemption by winning the Challengers Trophy, where they secured a ninth-place finish, defeating Switzerland 10-1 in their final match.
Sultan Azlan Shah Cup
After a series of disappointments, the Pakistan team showed an extraordinary performance in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup, which showed some glimmer of hope.
The national team remained undefeated in the group stage and managed to reach the final after 13 years.
Pakistan tied with Japan 2-2 in the final match, but Japan won 4-1 in the penalty shootout.
Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif also announced a reward of Rs 1 million to each player to encourage them for their excellent performance.
FIH Nations Cup
The national team participated in the fourth tournament of the year, the FIH Nations Cup, and the players put in a commendable performance in the tournament.
The Green Shirts started their campaign with a hard-fought 4-4 draw against Malaysia and then thrashed Canada 8-1 to boost their chances of qualifying for the semi-finals.
Pakistan then suffered a 6-5 defeat to France in their final group match.
However, the defeat did not put them out of the semi-finals as they managed to secure second place with four points from three matches, but unfortunately, they lost 2-1 to New Zealand in the semi-finals and were out of the title race.
Pakistan ended the tournament without a medal with a 4-3 defeat to South Africa in the third-place match.
Asian Champions Trophy
The national team then appeared in another prominent tournament, the Asian Champions Trophy, which was held in September in the city of Hulunbuir in Inner Mongolia, China.
Pakistan started the event slowly, playing two consecutive matches against Malaysia and Korea.
The Green Shirts finally secured their first victory 2-1 and defeated China 5-1 to qualify for the semi-finals.
But in the last match of the group before the knockout match, Pakistan faced their arch-rivals India, where they suffered a 2-1 defeat. India topped the table with 15 points, while Pakistan was second with 8 points.
They faced China again in the semi-finals, but Pakistan lost in a penalty shootout and were eliminated from the event.
Pakistan also suffered a defeat against Korea in the third-place match and had to settle for fourth place in the six-team tournament.
Junior team’s impressive performance in Asia Cup
Pakistan’s junior hockey team put up a brilliant performance in the Asia Cup, in this tournament, Pakistan easily made the journey to the semi-finals by achieving one-sided victories against Malaysia, China, Oman and Bangladesh in their group matches.
After winning 4-2 against Japan in the semi-finals, Pakistan faced arch-rivals India in the final.
Following a tough match in the final, the score remained tied at 3-3 till the end of the third quarter. India put up a brilliant performance in the last quarter and scored two more goals to clinch the title.
This was India’s third consecutive title in the Junior Asia Cup, while it had defeated Pakistan in the final for the second time.
Football at a Glance
In 2024, Pakistan did not achieve any significant success in football and disappointments followed Pakistan in this sport as both the men’s and women’s national teams failed to maintain significant progress.
FIFA World Cup 2026
The year 2022 was a relief for football fans in Pakistan as FIFA lifted the ban on Pakistan’s participation in the event and restored its international status, however, Pakistan failed to qualify for the FIFA Men’s World Cup 2026.
Pakistan started the qualifiers with a 3-0 defeat against Jordan while losing 7-0 in the away stage.
Later, the team also faced similar 3-0 defeats against Saudi Arabia and Tajikistan.
Under-17 SAFF Championship
Some positive news came in the form of the outstanding performance of Pakistan’s Under-17 football team in 2024, which reached the semi-finals of the SAFF Championship.
However, Pakistan lost to Bangladesh in a penalty shootout 8-7 in the semi-finals.
On the other hand, Pakistan’s women’s football team participated only in the SAFF Championship this year, which was played in Nepal from October 17 to 30, but unfortunately, this team also failed to show a remarkable performance.
The performance of the national women’s team in this seven-team tournament was very poor. The event started with Pakistan losing 5-2 to their arch-rivals India.
The Green Shirts drew 1-1 against Bangladesh, who later became champions, in their last group stage match.
However, they failed to secure the top two positions in the three-team group and were eliminated from the tournament.
Memorable match against Saudi Arabia
After a disappointing performance in the SAFF Women’s Championship, the national women’s team played a friendly match against Saudi Arabia in Doha, the capital of Qatar.
Although Pakistan’s chances of success were slim, the Green Shirts put in a brilliant performance to draw the match 1-1.
Saudi Arabia took a 1-0 lead in the first half, with Talah Al-Ghamdi scoring a goal that held up until the final moments of the match.
However, in the 88th minute, Pakistan’s Soha Hirani delivered a brilliant goal from a corner kick, securing an incredible equalizer for the team.
Although 2024 has been a challenging year for Pakistan in both hockey and football, there is hope that the nation can recover and make a strong comeback in hockey while aiming for new heights in football.
