Tokyo, September 20, 2026: Pakistan launched their Pool B campaign in emphatic fashion, defeating Thailand 9-0 at Gifu Prefectural Green Stadium on Sunday in the men’s hockey competition at the Asian Games.
Pakistan dominated throughout the 60-minute contest, scoring in every quarter. They led 2-0 after the opening period, added three goals in the second quarter to take a 5-0 lead into halftime, and continued their control after the break with two goals in each of the remaining quarters.
Ahmad Nadeem was the star of the Pakistan attack, scoring a hat-trick through field goals in the 20th, 37th and 43rd minutes.
Sufyan Khan added two goals from penalty corners, while Moin Shakeel, Ammad Butt, Waheed Rana and Abdul Shahid scored one each.
Shakeel opened the scoring in the eighth minute before Butt doubled Pakistan’s advantage four minutes later. Nadeem then found the net in the 20th minute, followed by two quick penalty-corner conversions from Khan in the 22nd and 23rd minutes.
Rana extended Pakistan’s lead in the 31st minute, with Shahid adding another three minutes later to make it 7-0. Nadeem completed his hat-trick in the 43rd minute before Pakistan added their ninth goal later in the match.
Pakistan enjoyed 57 per cent possession and earned seven penalty corners compared with Thailand’s two. Thailand failed to score throughout the match.
Nadeem converted three of his four attempts, while Shakeel and Butt scored from their only attempts. Khan converted two of six penalty-corner attempts.
Pakistan will next face Uzbekistan on September 22, while Thailand will take on China on the same day.
