By ijaz Chaudhry
Sufyan receiving Man of Match award in Dhaka
Pakistan had withdrawn from the 2025 Men's Hockey Asia Cup in India due to security concerns.
Hence, they could not qualify for the 2026 Men's FIH Hockey World Cup either directly or through qualifiers.
FIH regarded it as a force majeure. Pakistan was given the chance to qualify for the World Cup qualifiers in a three-match play-off series against Bangladesh, who had finished sixth at the 2025 Asia Cup.
Pakistan easily won all three games played at Dhaka's Maulana Bhashani Stadium.
Drag flicker Sufyan Khan was the series' top scorer with eight goals. After going goalless in the first match, Sufyan netted two in the second. And in the last game, his tally was awesome, six goals.
The boy hails from Bannu, KP's biggest hockey nursery. In 2020, he moved to Lahore, a 10-hour drive from Bannu, to join Dar Hockey Academy, Pakistan's finest. And in 2022, he was representing Pakistan. Since then, he has been going from strength to strength. Sufyan created history when he was named the FIH Young Player of the Year 2024 - the first time a Pakistani won an FIH Annual award in any category.
Ijaz Chaudhry writes on hockey & other sports. For more about him & his work, visit http://www.sportscorrespondent.info