KUALA LUMPUR: Pakistan and Japan sent an early warning to Malaysia that they mean business in the Under-21 Sultan of Johor Cup by recording impressive wins at the Taman Daya Hockey Stadium in Johor on Saturday.
In the first match of the day, the Green Shirts who were gunning for their first SoJC title, routed China 8-3, and Japan thrashed Canada 8-1 in the second match later.
However, Pakistan had a slow start and they were trailing 3-1 against China in the first 25 minutes before they
turned on the heat in the last two quarters to record an impressive win.
Ullah Saif (13th), Muhammad Farooq (30th), Rana Waleed Sami (37th), Fayyaz Hamza (39th), Ghulam Mustafa (43rd), Muhammad Usman (44th) and Asam Haider (55th, 57th) scored for Pakistan.
China, who were invited for the first time for the tournament, scored through Liang Haolin (15th, 18th) and Wang Yubo (25th).
Japan, who finished fifth in the Junior Asia Cup in Inner Mongolia, China last month to qualify for 2027 Junior World Cup, dominated the match from the start and scored through Shota Hanayama (15th), Yuto Higuchi (16th), Seia Yamada (22nd), Ninomiya Rei (28th), Chihiro Furusawa (30th), Shogo Sasaki (46th), Matsuki Mori (56th) and Ryosuke Shinohara (57th).
Canada, who are making their first debut in SoJC, replied through Kale Simonson in the 51st minute.
Japan coach Yoshihiro Anai said he was satisfied with his team's performance as they made full use of their chances.
"We want to keep improving our performance in every match and we look forward to facing hosts Malaysia on Tuesday," said Yoshihiro.
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