By Ijaz Chaudhry
Abduallah Awan receiving 'Man of Match' award
At the recent Under 18 Hockey Asia Cup in the Chinese City of Dazhou, Abdullah Awan, with six goals, was Pakistan’s top scorer.
The boy from Fort Abbas (district Bahawalnagar) started playing hockey at his school. “I excelled in the inter-school competitions. Scoring goals fascinated me right from the early days and I always played as a striker/centre forward.
In 2021, I moved to Lahore to join Dar Hockey Academy. Here, my game improved tremendously.
In 2024, I was selected in the Punjab team and appeared in the National Junior Championships for the first time. Later, that year, I represented the Punjab team at the Quaid-e-Azam Games. In 2025, in the COAS National Club Championships, our BK Club, comprising entirely of Dar Academy players, finished second. We lost the final on a shootout."
Then came the selection for the U-18 Asia Cup. “I was confident, having performed well during the trials and then at the camp”.
Transition to international hockey was smooth. “Aside from me, the Pakistan team at the U-18 Asia Cup included four other boys from Dar HA. That helped. I scored in four of Pakistan’s six matches and was also declared Man of Match against Bangladesh.”
About his future ambitions, “Obviously to represent Pakistan’s national team.”
Ijaz Chaudhry writes on hockey & other sports. For more about him & his work, visit http://www.sportscorrespondent.info