It was heartbreak for Pakistan on Thursday as they failed to qualify for FIH Odisha Hockey Men's World Cup 2023.
Starting the day, Pakistan suffered a narrow loss to Asian Games champions Japan who came up with an excellent defence to win 3-2 in a crucial pool A match here in the Asia Cup 2022 being held at the sprawling GBK Sports Arena.
A win against Japan or even a draw would have put Pakistan in the Super 4s but after the loss, the men in green had no choice but to depend on the result of the India vs Indonesia match, where the defending champions India needed to win by a difference of 15 goals to edge past Pakistan into the Super 4s.
Later in the day, the Indian men's hockey team lived up to their reputation as they leapfrogged Pakistan to enter the super 4s. India thrashed hosts Indonesia 16-0 in their final match of the Asia Cup 2022 Pool A in Jakarta.
With India's win, Pakistan who are record four-time champions, are now out of contention to qualify for the next year's world cup. The prestigious quadrennial tournament is scheduled to be held next year from January 13 to January 29 in India.
For the unversed, the top 3 teams in the Asia Cup 2022 were meant to qualify for the FIH World Cup 2023.
India 2023 will be only the second World Cup after Netherlands 2014 in which Pakistan have failed to qualify.
Men in blue's win also mean Malaysia, South Korea, and Japan have qualified for the 2023 World Cup.
( With inputs from ANI )
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