Pakistan beat Austria 3-2 in practice match

KARACHI: Pakistan defeated Austria 3-2 in a practice match in the Netherlands ahead of the Champions Trophy, officials told ‘The News’.

The first match between these two teams was drawn 1-1. The Green-shirts penalty corner specialist Aleem Bilal scored two goals, while emerging forward Arsalan Qadir netted one goal.

For Austria, Undeivigan and Uher Dominc netted one goal apiece. The Champions Trophy starts from June 23.

Pakistan have so far played four practice matches: two against Austria, one against the Netherlands and one against a local hockey club. Pakistan were defeated 2-1 by the Netherlands.

Pakistan hockey team management, when contacted, said that the Green-shirts were ready to start its campaign in Champions Trophy with the clash against archrivals India on June 23. The officials said the early arrival in the Netherlands and practice matches had helped the team a lot.

They said the players had learnt a lot and their confidence was high. They were hopeful that Pakistan would give tough time to all of their rivals.

An official said the match against India would be highly important. “We will try our best to surprise the Indian hockey team this time. A win against India, who are currently sixth in the world, would be a great morale booster,” he added.

“During the practice matches different combinations of the players have been tested and there have been some positive results. Forward Arsalan Qadir is playing magnificently and scoring goals. Aleem Bilal is also executing the penalty corners successfully. Besides, our defenders also played well in the practice matches. The performance of goalkeeper Imran Butt is also improving. Let’s see how our players perform in the main event,” he said.