The Pakistan men's national field hockey team () represents

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

in international

field hockey Field hockey (or simply referred to as hockey in some countries where ice hockey is not popular) is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with 11 players in total, made up of 10 field players and a goalk ...

. Having played its first match in 1948, it is administered by the

Pakistan Hockey Federation The Pakistan Hockey Federation () is the governing body for the sport of field hockey in Pakistan. It is affiliated with the International Hockey Federation (FIH), Asian Hockey Federation (AHF) and Pakistan Sports Board (PSB). Management posit ...

(PHF), the governing body for hockey in Pakistan. It has been a member of the International Hockey Federation (FIH) since 1948 and was founding member of the Asian Hockey Federation (ASHF), which was formed in 1958. Pakistan is one of the most successful national field hockey teams in the world with a record four Hockey World Cup wins (in

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (Solar eclipse of February 25, 1971, February 25, Solar eclipse of July 22, 1971, July 22 and Solar eclipse of August 20, 1971, August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 1971 lunar eclip ...

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C. ...

, and

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

). Pakistan national team has played in all FIH World Cup editions with the only absence coming in

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

and

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

. The Green Shirts are also the most successful national team in the

Asian Games The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years for athletes of Asia. The Games were regulated by Asian Games Federation from the 1951 Asian Games, first Games in New Delhi, India in 1951, until ...

, with eight gold medals:

1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the thir ...

1962 The year saw the Cuban Missile Crisis, which is often considered the closest the world came to a Nuclear warfare, nuclear confrontation during the Cold War. Events January * January 1 – Samoa, Western Samoa becomes independent from Ne ...

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 1970 Tonghai earthquake, Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli ...

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; ...

1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

, and

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

, the highest number of times a country has become Asian Champion, and the only Asian team to have won the prestigious Champions Trophy thrice:

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...

and

. Pakistan has won a total of 29 official international titles to professional and grassroots level selections, with three gold medals in the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...

field hockey tournaments: in Rome 1960, Mexico City 1968, and Los Angeles 1984. Field hockey is the

national sport A national sport is a physical activity or sport that is culturally significant or deeply embedded in a nation, serving as a national symbol and an intrinsic element to a nation's identity and culture. Several sovereign states and constituent ...

of the country. The Pakistan national team has been ranked as the #1 team in the world in both 2000 and 2001 by the FIH. Former captain Sohail Abbas holds the

World Record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organizatio ...

for the most international goals scored by a player in the history of international field hockey. Waseem Ahmad is the most-capped player for the team, having played 410 times between 1996 and 2013. Pakistan is known for having fierce rivalry in field hockey with

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, having a record of playing each other in

South Asian Games The South Asian Games is a quadrennial multi-sport event held among athletes from South Asia. The South Asia Olympic Council, which was formed in 1983, governs it. The Games consist of seven countries, namely Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, N ...

and

finals. They have competed against one another in 20 major tournaments finals so far, out of which Pakistan has won 13 titles in total. Pakistan have a record of consecutively winning the first three championships of Hockey Asia Cup in 1982, 1985 and 1989 against India. Pakistan also has notable competitive rivalries with

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. Pakistan's home ground is

National Hockey Stadium National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...

. The current team's head coach is Shahnaz Sheikh and the team manager is Saeed Khan.

History

Early history (1948–1955)

Originally, the game had been brought by British servicemen to

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

, and like

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

it soon became a popular sport with the local population. Following the

independence Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state, in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the status of ...

of Pakistan in 1947, soon after the

came into being in 1948. Prior to the

partition of India The partition of India in 1947 was the division of British India into two independent dominion states, the Dominion of India, Union of India and Dominion of Pakistan. The Union of India is today the Republic of India, and the Dominion of Paki ...

, players playing for Pakistan competed for the Indian side. The Federation soon established and organized the Provincial Hockey/Sports Associations of West Punjab,

East Bengal East Bengal (; ''Purbô Bangla/Purbôbongo'') was the eastern province of the Dominion of Pakistan, which covered the territory of modern-day Bangladesh. It consisted of the eastern portion of the Bengal region, and existed from 1947 until 195 ...

Sindh Sindh ( ; ; , ; abbr. SD, historically romanized as Sind (caliphal province), Sind or Scinde) is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, southeastern region of the country, Sindh is t ...

Balochistan Balochistan ( ; , ), also spelled as Baluchistan or Baluchestan, is a historical region in West and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. This arid region o ...

, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa,

Bahawalpur Bahawalpur (Urdu: ; ) is a city in Punjab, Pakistan. It is the 13th largest city of Pakistan and List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, 8th most populous city of Punjab. Bahawalpur is the capital of Bahawalpur Division. Founded in ...

& Services Sports Board. Despite the limited resources available on 2 August 1948, Pakistan national team, led by Ali Iqtidar Shah Dara, officially went on to play their first international game against

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

winning the game 2–1 at the 1948 London Olympics. Pakistan remained unbeaten defeating

the Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

and

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

during the group stage round and ended up placing fourth. During the group stages Pakistan defeat of Netherlands by 6–1 was the highlight for the team. Following the Olympics Pakistan went on a tour of Europe where the played Belgium, Netherlands and Italy and remained undefeated during the tour. The next international outing of the team came after a gap of two years when Pakistan participated in an invitational competition in Spain in 1950. Pakistan were declared joined winners with Netherlands after the final ended in a draw and organizers decided to end the game rather than going for a deciding period of play, this was Pakistan's first international tournament victory. Again there was a gap of two years before Pakistan again appeared in an international event and this time it was the 1952 Olympics in

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

. Pakistan won the first knock-out game against France 6–0 but lost to Netherlands and Great Britain to again finish fourth at the event. Over the four years Pakistan made tours to European teams and also hosted them in their own country and in Asia Pakistan particularly made regular tours to

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

and

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

with whom they played quite a few times.

Rise in Olympics and Asian honors (1956–1970)

Pakistan won their first Olympic medal in

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan after 57 years. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, E ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

when they reached the final but lost to India 1–0 to earn a silver medal, first podium finish this was also Pakistan's first medal at the Olympics. Field hockey was included in the

for the first time in 1958 at

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

. Pakistan were drawn against

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

and archrivals

. They beat Japan 5–0 in their first match, then followed two consecutive victories over South Korea (8–0) and Malaysia (6–0). In the last match Pakistan drew 0–0 with India finishing top of the table in the round-robin format and clinched its first gold medal in an international competition. Hockey_su_prato_Olimpiadi_1960_premiazione

Hockey_su_prato_Olimpiadi_1960_premiazione

In 1960 Rome Olympics where

played against in a group with

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

and Japan, winning all the matches. Pakistan then played the quarter-final round with

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, winning the match 2–1 and advanced to the semi-final round where they defeated

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. Pakistan eventually won the gold medal, defeating

1–0 with a goal by Naseer Bunda in the final round held at the Olympic Velodrome and ended India's run of six successive gold medals at the

Summer Olympic Games The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Summer Olympics or the Games of the Olympiad, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The 1896 Summer Olympics, inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, ...

. In the

1962 Asian Games The 1962 Asian Games () also known as the 4th Asian Games, IV Asiad, and Jakarta 1962, were the fourth edition of pan-Asian multi-sport event sanctioned by the Asian Games Federation (AGF). The games were held from 24 August to 4 September 1962, ...

, Pakistan earned its second gold medal with Chaudhry Ghulam Rasool as the captain leading the team to another successive award. However, during the 1964 Tokyo Olympics the national team ended up as runners-up for the second time after losing 1–0 to India in the final as well as finishing runners-up in the 1966 Asian Games held in

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

. Pakistan won its second

gold medal in

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

at the

1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Mexico 1968 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 12 to 27 October 1968, in Mexico City, Mexico. These were the first Ol ...

. It fielded what has since then often been considered the best hockey squad ever led by captain

Tariq Aziz Tariq Aziz (, , 28 April 1936 – 5 June 2015) was an Iraq, Iraqi politician who served as the Deputy Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister of Iraq from 1979 to 2003 and Minister of Foreign Affairs (Iraq), Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1983 ...

with Saeed Anwar, Khalid Mahmood, Gulraiz Akhtar and Tariq Niazi. Even though Rasool had retired, this team was still a force to be reckoned with. They won all six of their games—against

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

, Malaysia, Australia,

and the

during group play, and against

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

in the knockout round. Pakistan made the final for the fourth straight Olympics, and won the gold medal, as they had in 1960, this time by defeating Australia, 2–1 with goals from Muhammad Asad Malik and Abdul Rashid. Rashid was the top scorer for Pakistan with seven goals; Tanvir Dar finished with six goals.

The Golden Era (1970–1984)

In the group stage of the 1970 Asian Games, Pakistan was competing with tournament hosts Thailand and contenders Japan for top spot and a place in the finals. In their first match of the group, Pakistan scored thrice against Japan to clinch their first win, followed by defeating Hong Kong 10–0 to go to the top of the group. The team then draw 0–0 with Thailand and progressed to the knock-out round, where they won 5–0 over Malaysia. In the final, Pakistan faced India, winning 1–0 and sealing their third Asian Games gold medal. Noor khan

In 1971, the first-ever Hockey World Cup was to be hosted by Pakistan. However, political issues would prevent that first competition from being played in Pakistan. The FIH had inadvertently scheduled the first World Cup to be played in Pakistan during the

Bangladesh Liberation War The Bangladesh Liberation War (, ), also known as the Bangladesh War of Independence, was an War, armed conflict sparked by the rise of the Bengali nationalism, Bengali nationalist and self-determination movement in East Pakistan, which res ...

. Furthermore, Pakistan and India had been at war with each other only six years earlier. When Pakistan invited India to compete in the tournament, a crisis arose. Pakistanis, led by cricketer Abdul Hafeez Kardar, protested against India's participation in the Hockey World Cup. Given the intense political climate between Pakistan and India, the FIH decided to move the tournament elsewhere. In March 1971, coincidentally in the same month Bangladesh declared independence from Pakistan, the FIH decided to move the first Hockey World Cup to the Real Club de Polo grounds in

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

, which was considered a neutral and peaceful European site. On 27 March 1971, in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

, the trophy was formally handed to FIH President Rene Frank by H.E Masood, the Pakistani Ambassador to

. A total number of 10 teams qualified for the event and were broken up into two groups. The Pakistani team was drawn in a group with hosts

, Australia, Japan and the Netherlands. The group was topped by Spain and Pakistan respectively, and both the teams advanced into the semi-finals. In the first semi-final of the tournament Pakistan ousted India 2–1 in a tense and closely contested game and in the second semi-final Spain played safe and defeated a spirited Kenya 1–0 to enter the finals against Pakistan. In the final Pakistan scored early but then strengthened its defense to hold out for a 1–0 victory and win the first hockey World Cup, retaining its number one position in the world hockey rankings, closely followed by India and the Netherlands. Tanvir Dar finished as the top goal scorer at the tournament with eight goals. The

1972 Munich Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and officially branded as Munich 1972 (; ), were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. It was the ...

, Pakistan lost the final to hosts

losing the game 1–0 with a goal by Michael Krause and finished at fourth place, the following year, in the 1973 Hockey World Cup. The national team made a comeback in the international competition, by winning and retaining their title at the 1974 Asian Games but lost to their rivals

in the finals of the third hockey World Cup in 1975.

1976 Montreal Olympics The 1976 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Montreal 1976 (), were an international multi-sport event held from July 17 to August 1, 1976, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Montreal w ...

saw the team secure their first bronze medal in the competition. The year 1978 saw Pakistan national team win three major international tournaments: the third Hockey World Cup held at

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

along with 1978 Asian Games and the first Champions Trophy. This was the first time a national team won three major titles in the history of international field hockey. In 1980, Pakistan Olympic Association, along with 65 countries,

boycotted A boycott is an act of nonviolent, voluntary abstention from a product, person, organisation, or country as an expression of protest. It is usually for moral, social, political, or environmental reasons. The purpose of a boycott is to inflict ...

the

1980 Moscow Olympics The 1980 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad () and officially branded as Moscow 1980 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 19 July to 3 August 1980 in Moscow, Soviet Union, in present-day Russ ...

because of the

Soviet invasion of Afghanistan The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until it dissolved in 1991. During its existence, it was the largest country by are ...

. This resulted in Pakistan hockey team not participating at the field hockey competition at the tournament. Pakistan hosted the 1980 and 1981 Champions Trophy tournaments, winning the title against West Germany in the final round in 1980 and finishing at fourth position a year later, held at the Hockey Club of Pakistan,

Karachi Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...

. In the 1980s Pakistan won every international tournament it participated in including the 1982 World Cup in

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

and the 1984 Olympics in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

where Pakistan won the gold medal defeating

in the final. Pakistan also won the Asian Games and

Asia Cup The Men's Asia Cup is the biennial cricket tournament organised by the Asian Cricket Council. The competition is contested by Asian members' senior men's national cricket teams, determining the continental champion of Asia. It was establis ...

consecutively in this period.

Surface change crisis and resurgence (1986–1996)

Although hockey was being played at synthetic surfaces from the 1970s but it was only until the 1986 World Cup in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

the FIH completely moved on from grass pitches to

AstroTurf AstroTurf is an American subsidiary of SportGroup that produces artificial turf for pitch (sports field), playing surfaces in sports. The original AstroTurf product was a pile (textile), short-pile synthetic turf invented in 1965 by Monsanto. Si ...

, synthetic turf made from plastic fibers to give a grass like look. The change of surface made the game much more fasted paced and to align the game with the new conditions the governing body vastly changed the rules of the game which focused more on strength and pace rather than stick work and technique which was the hallmark of Asian style of hockey. This negatively effected Pakistan since they couldn't replace all of the grass pitches with more expensive synthetic surfaces compared to more affluent European nations. This resulted in Pakistan performing very poorly at the World Cup in London where they won just one pool game and finished second last at 11th place. Pakistan however managed to cope up with the new changes in the game in the following years and started to regain some of its past dominance. Pakistan first finished runner-up at the

1990 World Cup The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event for a second ...

at home in

after losing the final to Netherlands and won a bronze medal at the 1992 Olympics in

. The most glorious highlight of the decade came in 1994 when Pakistan first won the 1994 Champions Trophy at home ground, their first title in the competition after 14 years and later in the year Pakistan won the Hockey World Cup in Sydney after winning a penalty shootout against Netherlands.

Post-Atlanta Olympics (1998–2006)

After Atlanta 1996 the first major competition was the 1998 Hockey World Cup in

Utrecht Utrecht ( ; ; ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city of the Netherlands, as well as the capital and the most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. The ...

Pakistan finished 5th at the tournament. The following year Pakistan won the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup for the first time in 1999. Pakistan finished fourth at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney after losing the bronze medal match to Australia, this was the last time Pakistan played for a medal at the Olympics. Pakistan finished 5th at 2002 World Cup and Kuala Lumpur and won bronze medal at the Champions Trophy the same year. At the 2002 Asian Games Pakistan finished fourth, the first time the team didn't won a medal at the competition. In 2003 Pakistan lost the Hockey Asia Cup final to India and in 2004 Pakistan had a busy schedule where they played in many tournaments in lead up to the Olympics but Pakistan finished 5th at the 2004 Athens Olympics later in December Pakistan finished third at the 2004 Champions Trophy in

, the third consecutive bronze medal. In 2005 Pakistan had a highlight when they defeated Olympic champion

to win the 2005 Hockey RaboTrophy in Netherlands. Pakistan finished 6th the 2006 World Cup and failed even to progress from the pool stages of the 2007 Asia Cup.

Beijing Olympics and competitive decline (2008–2012)

The

2008 Beijing Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

proved to be the worst performance of the team at the event where they finished 8th. The year 2010 started with another record worst performance at the 2010 World Cup in New Delhi where the team finished last at 12th place but later in the same year Pakistan had a major success by winning the gold medal at the

2010 Asian Games The 2010 Asian Games (), officially known as the XVI Asian Games () and also known as Guangzhou 2010 (), were a regional multi-sport event held from November 12 to 27, 2010 in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China (although several events commenced ear ...

in China. In 2011 Pakistan played in many minor tournaments in lead up to the 2012 Olympics where they finished 7th. Later in the year 2012 Pakistan won bronze medal at the 2012 Champions Trophy in

after upsetting tournaments favorites like Germany. The Pakistani national team most successful tournament, in this period, was the Asian Hockey Champions Trophy winning the trophy first in

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

against

and finishing as runners-up in the first edition of Asian Hockey Champions Trophy in 2011. During this period despite not any major team honor won the Pakistan team had world renowned individual players in world hockey in the likes of Sohail Abbas who remained top scorer at the 2002 World Cup and 2004 Olympics, he later broke the record of highest goalscorer in international hockey with a total of 348 goals and Rehan Butt who was twice voted as the Best Asian Player by Asian Hockey Federation, Shakeel Abbasi, Salman Akbar and Muhammad Saqlain.

World Cup and Olympic absentee (2013–2020)

Pakistan, after having failed to get a direct entrance for the 2014 World Cup, were handed a last chance to qualify for the event by winning the 2013 Asia Cup, but they finished third and failed to qualify for the World Cup for the first time in their history. Pakistan failed to qualify for the Olympics for the first time at Rio 2016 after failing a qualification berth at the 2014–15 FIH Hockey World League. From 2016 to 2017, Pakistan performed poorly in different competitions even featuring a record 9–1 defeat against Australia in 2017. In 2018, Roelant Oltmans of Netherlands was brought in as coach and the team showed some improvement, but still performed poorly at the 2018 World Cup, failing to win a single match. Pakistan again failed to qualify for the

2020 Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

, losing the Olympic Qualifiers against Netherlands over a two-legged tie in 2019.

Continued struggles and Olympic absentee (2021–present)

PHF announced Pakistan's participation for the 2021 Asian Champions Trophy, the team's first appearance in an international competition after a gap of two years. A 20-man squad was announced with Siegfried Aikman as head coach prior to the tournament. Pakistan could not qualify for the 2023 World Cup despite it being a 16-team event. Pakistan then played 2022 Common wealth games where Pakistan performs poorly and finished 7th, In December 2022 Pakistan participated in 2022 Nations cup were Pakistan finished 7th, In July 2023 Shahnaz Sheikh was appointed as the head coach of team for 2023 Asian Champions Trophy, In August 2023 PHF announced 36-man squad for Asian Games 2023, In the Asian Games 2023 Pakistan lost to

by 10-2 which was the biggest defeat in their history, Pakistan finished 5th in the Asian Games 2023.Pakistan also failed to qualify for the 2024 Summer Olympics, In 2024 Roelant Oltmans was bring as coach of Pakistan for the 2024 Sultan Azlan Shah Cup and the 2024 Nations Cup.

Logo and stadium

The motif of the Pakistan national field hockey team has a star and crescent on a dark green field; with a vertical white stripe at the hoist, usually in green, white color, as represented in the

flag of Pakistan The national flag of Pakistan, also known as the Flag of the Star and Crescent (), is made up of a green field with a stylized tilted white descending Star and crescent, crescent moon and five-pointed star at its centre, and a vertical white st ...

. Pakistan played at a number of different venues across the country, though by 1978, this had largely settled down to having

(also known as Gaddafi Hockey Stadium, named after former

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

n leader

Muammar Gaddafi Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi (20 October 2011) was a Libyan military officer, revolutionary, politician and political theorist who ruled Libya from 1969 until Killing of Muammar Gaddafi, his assassination by Libyan Anti-Gaddafi ...

) in

as the primary venue, with Faisalabad Hockey Stadium and the Hockey Club of Pakistan used on occasions where the National Hockey Stadium was unavailable for home matches. The stadium is considered to be the biggest international field hockey stadium in the world, and holds a capacity of 45,000 spectators. The Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) has its headquarters at the stadium. Pakistan has hosted many international matches and competitions such as the Hockey Asia Cup of

and Champions Trophy tournament in

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...

1983 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

, 1986, 1988,

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

, and

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

along with the 1990 Hockey World Cup, where Pakistan lost 3–1 to the

in the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

Honors and recognition

Since its breakthrough in the 1948 Summer Olympics, Pakistan has won more than 20 official titles, which are detailed below: *

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Summer Olympics or the Games of the Olympiad, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, then part of the King ...

: ** Gold medal: 1960 Rome, 1968 Mexico City, 1984 Los Angeles ** Silver medal: 1956 Melbourne, 1964 Tokyo, 1972 Munich ** Bronze medal: 1976 Montreal, 1992 Barcelona *

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

: ** Gold medal:

** Silver medal:

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 – Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

* Champions Trophy: ** Gold medal:

** Silver medal:

, 1988,

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

** Bronze medal: 1986,

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

* Sultan Azlan Shah Cup: ** Gold medal:

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

** Silver medal:

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

** Bronze medal:

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

* Asian Champions Trophy: **Gold medal:

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

** Silver medal:

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

** Bronze medal:

: ** Gold medal:

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

** Silver medal:

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

** Bronze medal:

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

: ** Gold medal:

** Silver medal:

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

, 1986,

** Bronze medal:

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which consists mostly, but not exclusively, of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 1930 ...

: ** Silver medal:

** Bronze medal:

: ** Gold medal:

** Silver medal:

* Afro-Asian Games: ** Silver medal:

* Hockey Champions Challenge: ** Silver medal:

Competitive record

Team performance

TBD ''(to be determined)'', DNQ ''(did not qualify)'', DNP ''(did not participate)''

Records

''As of 27 October 2019'' ''Players in bold text are still active with Pakistan''

Top goal scorers

Most-capped players

Players

Officials

Current players

The following 18 players were named in the squad for the 2024 Men's Asian Champions Trophy in

Hulunbuir Hulunbuir or Hulun Buir, ''Hūlúnbèi'ěr''; , ''Khulunbuir'' is a prefecture-level city in northeastern Inner Mongolia, China. Its administrative center is located at Hailar District, its largest urban area. Major scenic features are the high ...

. ''Caps and goals current as of 9 June 2024, following the match against

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

.''

Results and fixtures

2024

''All times are ( UTC+5).'' 2024 Asian Champions trophy

2025

''All times are ( UTC+5).'' 2024–25 Men's FIH Hockey Nations Cup

Head-to-head record

Record last updated as of the following matches: Pakistan vs New Zealand at Kuala Lumpur, 2024–25 Men's FIH Hockey Nations Cup , 18 June 2025

References

External links

*
FIH profile
{{Navboxes , title = Links to related articles , list = {{Asia Men's national field hockey teams {{National sports teams of Pakistan

National team A national sports team (commonly known as a national team or a national side) is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport. The term is most commonly associated with team sports, for exa ...

Asian men's national field hockey teams

Field hockey Field hockey (or simply referred to as hockey in some countries where ice hockey is not popular) is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with 11 players in total, made up of 10 field players and a goalk ...

History

Early history (1948–1955)

Rise in Olympics and Asian honors (1956–1970)

The Golden Era (1970–1984)

Surface change crisis and resurgence (1986–1996)

Post-Atlanta Olympics (1998–2006)

Beijing Olympics and competitive decline (2008–2012)

World Cup and Olympic absentee (2013–2020)

Continued struggles and Olympic absentee (2021–present)

Logo and stadium

Honors and recognition

Competitive record

Team performance

Records

Top goal scorers

Most-capped players

Players

Officials

Current players

Results and fixtures

2024

2025

Head-to-head record

See also

References

External links