Keeping their winning run intact, Pakistan routed Chinese Taipei 13-0 in their final league match. 3-times former Asia Cup champions Pakistan had earlier beaten Japan and Malaysia very convincingly.
After this big win, their coach Tahir Zaman is filled with joy, but he knows very well that his job is not done yet.
“Yes it’s very good to win all your league matches, especially beating a team like Malaysia 4-1 gives you good feeling, but our real test starts from now,” says the Pakistan coach.
Pakistan is all set to take on South Korea in the semi-finals, scheduled on 30th August. Zaman says his team is all prepared for the big matches now.
“South Korea is a very good team. We have played a lot of matches against in the past, and we know what are their short-comings. We are playing good hockey, and inshah allah, we will surely beat them to book a place in the finals,” says the 1994 world cup winner.
India, on the other hand, will take on Malaysia in the other semi-final. So there is a possibility of an India-Pakistan final. And to add to the excitement, Pakistan has to win the Asia cup to qualify for the world cup. Pakistan coach says that it doesn’t matter now which team they face.
“See our aim is very clear. If we want to qualify for the world cup, we have to win the Asia Cup. Yes an India-Pakistan final would surely add a lot to the excitement, but for us, it’s very important to beat any team we face. Although it’s a sad thing that only one of these two teams will qualify for the world cup. It would be better for the Asian hockey if both Pakistan and India would qualify,” concludes the former inside-right.