Pakistan Lose Johor Cup Final to Malaysia in Shootout

Pakistan's junior hockey team came within touching distance of the Sultan of Johor Cup title on Saturday, only to lose the final 4-3 in a penalty shootout to hosts Malaysia after a thrilling 2-2 draw at the Taman Daya Hockey Stadium in Johor Bahru. The Green Shirts had led 2-0 early in the second quarter, but a roaring home crowd dragged Malaysia back into the contest, and the hosts held their nerve when it mattered most.

The defeat means Pakistan finish with the silver medal in the 14th edition of the under-21 tournament, which ran from October 17 to 24 with five teams competing. For a side that had not reached this final in a decade, it was a campaign full of promise — and a final that will sting for a while, because for long stretches of the match, the trophy looked like it was coming to Pakistan.

Pakistan race into a 2-0 lead

Pakistan made a dream start to the final. Rana Waleed opened the scoring in the 19th minute with a penalty-corner conversion, and Muhammad Usman doubled the advantage shortly afterwards, stunning the home crowd into silence. At 2-0 up, Pakistan were in control of the final and playing with the confidence of a team that had scored freely all tournament.

Malaysia, however, refused to fold. Muhammad Adam Johari pulled one back from a penalty corner in the 25th minute to make it 2-1 before half-time, and the momentum of the match began to shift. Pakistan's defence held firm through the third quarter despite sustained Malaysian pressure and a string of penalty corners, protecting the slender lead.

The equaliser finally arrived in the 49th minute, when Dheeressh Gunaseelan converted another penalty corner to level the scores at 2-2. Neither side could find a winner in the remaining minutes, and the final went to a shootout — the cruellest way to decide a tournament.

Shootout heartbreak for the Green Shirts

The shootout started badly for Pakistan when Hamza Fayyaz missed the opening attempt, and Malaysia converted their first two to seize the early advantage. Pakistan fought back to 3-3, but Malaysia's Aferull Syah scored the decisive attempt to make it 4-3, and Muhammad Imad missed Pakistan's final effort, confirming the hosts as champions.

For Malaysia, the victory ended a 15-year wait for the trophy. It was their first Sultan of Johor Cup final since 2013 — when they lost 0-3 to India — and only their second title in the tournament's history after their inaugural triumph in 2011. Coach Nor Saiful Zaini Nasiruddin had spoken before the final about how long his young side had waited for a moment like this, and his players delivered it in front of their own fans.

Pakistan's road to the final

Pakistan's journey to the final was one of the stories of the tournament. They opened with an 8-3 demolition of China and followed it with a 6-2 win over Canada, announcing themselves as genuine title contenders. Their only defeat of the league stage came against the hosts, a narrow 3-2 loss in which goalkeeper Abid Amsyar Hanif saved a Rana Waleed penalty stroke in the 12th minute and Waleed was later shown a red card in the 51st minute.

The decisive match came against Japan in the final round of league fixtures. Twice Pakistan fell behind — to Yamada Seiya in the 18th minute and Nakai Kazuki in the 42nd — and twice they fought back, through Hamza Fayyaz's penalty corner in the 34th minute and Ghulam Mustafa's equaliser a minute after Japan's second goal. The 2-2 draw left Pakistan and Japan level on seven points from four matches with an identical goal difference of plus eight, but Pakistan advanced to the final because they had scored 18 goals across the tournament to Japan's 16.

It was a fine margin, and it set up a final rematch with the unbeaten hosts — a team Pakistan had beaten twice in last month's Junior Asia Cup in Inner Mongolia, which added an extra layer of rivalry to Saturday's decider.

What the silver medal means for Pakistan hockey

The disappointment of the shootout should not obscure what this young side achieved. Reaching the Sultan of Johor Cup final for the first time in 10 years is a genuine milestone for a junior programme that has spent years trying to rebuild, and the Pakistan Hockey Federation praised the players and coaching staff after the final, describing the run as an encouraging development for the future of the sport in the country.

The context matters. Pakistan's senior team returned to the FIH Hockey World Cup this year for the first time since 2018 and finished 11th, with the federation framing that experience as part of the build-up to the 2026 Asian Games and the ultimate goal of direct qualification for the 2028 Olympics. A junior side that can go toe-to-toe with the best in Asia, score 18 goals in four league matches, and reach a final on foreign soil is exactly the pipeline the senior team needs.

There are lessons in the final too. Pakistan's penalty-corner battery — Waleed's opener was a reminder of its quality — fired throughout the tournament, but defending the set piece proved the difference in the final: both of Malaysia's regulation goals came from penalty corners, and managing those moments better will be high on the coaching staff's agenda.

What comes next

The junior players will return home with silver medals and a reputation enhanced, even if the gold slipped away in the shootout. For Pakistan hockey, the challenge now is to keep this group together, give them regular high-level competition, and make sure the promise shown in Johor Bahru is not a one-tournament story. The senior side's road to the Asian Games and the 2028 Olympic cycle will need exactly this kind of fearless young talent.

Malaysia, meanwhile, will celebrate a long-awaited second title — and Pakistan will know that the next time these two young sides meet, the rivalry has a new chapter. On Saturday in Johor Bahru, the hosts won the shootout. The Green Shirts won plenty of admirers along the way.

Sources: SNE Sports, Daily The Destination, Sport 247 News, SportsLink PK, Islamabad Post, 99 News, Wikipedia (2026 Sultan of Johor Cup). Photos are illustrative men's field hockey action photos by Prensa TV Pública, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0).