Pakistan’s hockey team suffered a setback against India in the group stage of the Asian Five-a-Side Hockey Tournament after a serious management mistake forced the team to play with only four players for a short period, it was reported on Saturday.
During the match, Pakistan mistakenly fielded six players instead of the permitted five in violation of the tournament rules.
The referee spotted the rules violation during the match and immediately took action, showing a yellow card to one Pakistani player.
As a result, Pakistan was forced to play the remainder of the match with only four players instead of five, giving India a significant advantage.
India made full use of the extra space and numerical superiority to secure a comfortable 7-3 victory over Pakistan.
The rules breach could have further consequences, with Pakistan reportedly facing the possibility of disciplinary action, including a fine and a suspension, over the incident.
The defeat has been widely attributed to the Pakistani team’s management error rather than on-field performance, as the avoidable mistake significantly affected the course of the match.
Despite the league-stage defeat, Pakistan has qualified for the tournament final, where it is once again scheduled to face India in the title clash.
The incident has also revived memories of a similar management lapse during the Asia Cup, when then head coach Olympian Khawaja Junaid mistakenly fielded 12 players against Japan.
That costly error resulted in Pakistan missing out on qualification for the Olympic Games, making the latest mistake another embarrassing chapter for the country’s hockey management.
