Pakistan secured a place in the Asian Games 2026 men’s hockey semi-finals after finishing their Pool B campaign with a dominant 7-2 victory over Oman at the Gifu Prefectural Green Stadium.
The result saw Pakistan end the group stage with four wins from five matches and finish second in Pool B with 12 points, behind Malaysia, who topped the group with 15.
Pakistan will now face India in the semi-final on October 1 after missing out on top spot in the pool following their narrow 5-4 defeat to Malaysia earlier in the competition.
Rana Waheed starred against Oman with a hat-trick, while Sufyan Khan scored twice from penalty corners. Ghazanfar Ali and Ammad Butt also found the net as Pakistan controlled the match for long periods.
Sufyan opened the scoring in the 22nd minute and doubled Pakistan’s advantage six minutes later. Waheed then made it 3-0 in the 34th minute before Ghazanfar added another in the 40th.
Oman responded through Al Baraa Al Nofli and Aiman Madit, but Pakistan remained comfortably ahead. Waheed scored his second in the 44th minute before Ammad Butt added another in the 46th.
Waheed completed his hat-trick in the 59th minute to round off a convincing win and confirm Pakistan’s place in the last four.
Pakistan had earlier beaten Thailand 9-0, Uzbekistan 5-1 and China 3-0 before suffering their only defeat of the pool stage against Malaysia.
The Green Shirts scored 28 goals and conceded eight across their five pool matches. Their second-place finish set up a high-profile semi-final against India, with a place in the Asian Games final at stake.
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