The Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) has announced the 18-member squad for the Junior Asia Cup 2023, which is scheduled to take place in Oman from May 23 to June 1.
The selection committee, led by Olympian Nasir Ali, which comprised Rahim Khan, Shakeel Abbasi, and Kalemullah Khan, finalized the squad before sending it to PHF for approval.
As per the announced squad, Mohammad Abdullah will lead the Men in Green in the event, and as many as six players will remain on standby.
It is pertinent to mention that the upcoming Junior Asia Cup will feature a total of 10 teams, which are divided into two pools.
Pool A consists of powerhouses like Pakistan, India, Japan, Thailand, China, and Thailand, while Pool B includes Korea, Malaysia, Oman, Bangladesh, and Uzbekistan.
Pakistan will start their campaign on May 23 against Chinese Taipei. Their second match will be against Thailand on May 24, followed by a match against India on May 27 and Japan on May 29.
Last week, PHF appointed Roelant Oltmans, a Netherlands-born coach, who previously worked with the Pakistan Men’s Hockey Team, for the Junior Asia Cup 2023.
Here is the complete squad:
| Mohammad Abdullah | Ali Raza | Faizan Janjua | Aqeel Ahmed | Arbaz Ahmed | Ihtasham Aslam |
| Sufyan Khan | Arbaz Ayaz | Murtaza Yaqoob | Arshad Liaquat | Ali Murtaza | Zikriya Hayat |
| Abdur Rehman | Abdul Qayyum Dogar | Abdul Hannan Shahid | Abdul Wahab | Basharat Ali | Bilal Akram |
