Pakistan and Japan send early warnings to Malaysia
KUALA LUMPUR: Pakistan and Japan sent an early warning to Malaysia that they mean business in the Under-21 Sultan of Johor Cup by recording impressive wins at the Taman Daya Hockey Stadium in Johor on Saturday.
On Saturday, Pakistan and Japan demonstrated their determination in the Under-21 Sultan of Johor Cup by securing impressive victories at the Taman Daya Hockey Stadium in Johor. The Green Shirts, aiming for their first title, dominated the first match against China, winning 8-3. Later, Japan outclassed Canada with an 8-1 scoreline.
However, Pakistan initially struggled, trailing 3-1 against China in the first 25 minutes. They rallied in the final stages, scoring through Ullah Saif, Muhammad Farooq, Rana Waleed Sami, Fayyaz Hamza, Ghulam Mustafa, Muhammad Usman, and Asam Haider to clinch their win. China made their tournament debut with goals from Liang Haolin and Wang Yubo.
Japan, who finished fifth in the Junior Asia Cup last month, maintained their dominance, scoring through Shota Hanayama, Yuto Higuchi, Seia Yamada, Ninomiya Rei, Chihiro Furusawa, Shogo Sasaki, Matsuki Mori, and Ryosuke Shinohara. Canada, making their SoJC debut, responded with a goal from Kale Simonson. Japan's coach, Yoshihiro Anai, expressed satisfaction with his team's performance, stating their intent to continue improving and anticipate the upcoming match against Malaysia on Tuesday.
Written by urgent.news from New Straits Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
