IPOH – Japan’s hockey head coach Yoshihiro Anai has made it clear that they will be using the next 24 hours to study Pakistan’s penalty corner techniques to nail them in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup final tomorrow.
Anai’s response came after his side won 3-1 against Canada. The match attracted approximately 1,000 fans at the Azlan Shah Stadium here today.
The Samurais, making their sixth appearance at the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup, fielded a team with an average age of 24.
They have remained undefeated in the tournament after five pool matches.
Japan’s best performance in the history of the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup was finishing fourth in the 2022 edition. They lost 5-3 to Pakistan in the playoff for the bronze medal.
“Today’s game against Canada was good, but we need to do some homework on our goal-scoring abilities. We need to improve that a lot and make sure we score the goals that we receive.
“The Pakistanis are a skilled side, and we saw that in the 1-1 draw match against us earlier. I am sure they will change their strategies this time in the final.
“We also have new plans for them, but before that, we need to review their penalty corner abilities in the next 24 hours as they are really strong in that area.
“This is a young team, and winning tournaments like this will definitely give them a boost to succeed in the years to come, such as the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games and to qualify for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics,” said Anai during a post-match conference.
At the same time, Anai also added that he looks at Pakistan’s Sufyan Khan, Shakeel Moin, Sulman Razzaq, and Abu Mahmood as one of their biggest threats in their conquest to win their inaugural title.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s head coach Roelant Oltmans said that he’s hoping that their final match against the world number 16 side does not end up in a penalty shootout.
However, the experienced head coach also said that his side is ready if the champion of the tournament is decided through a shootout.
“We have 24 hours to rest, and I have a group of players who are eager to prove themselves.
“It’s going to be a tough game, but we need to find something that we can do to hurt them.
“Since our team is young, they need to play in this kind of finals to prepare themselves for bigger challenges.
“I’m hoping that the match is not decided through a penalty shootout, but even if it is, the team will be ready as we have been practising every day for this kind of moment,” said Oltmans.
Pakistan made 22 appearances in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup and won the tournament three times (1999, 2000, and 2003) since its inception in 1983.
Pakistan and Japan have clashed 28 times since the 1960 Rome Olympics, with Pakistan having a higher winning percentage of 46.43%. – May 10, 2024