FIH Junior World Ranking: 12

How they qualified: 2nd Place – Junior Asia Cup 2023

Junior World Cup history: 2021 – 11th, 2013 – 9th, 2009 – 5th, 2005 – 7th, 1997 – 5th, 1993 – 2nd, 1989 – 3rd, 1985 – 3rd, 1982 – 3rd, 1979 – 1st

Pakistan appeared on the men’s Junior World Cup podium on each of the first five competitions played between 1979 and 1993, winning the inaugural event and claiming one silver and three bronze medals. Since then, two fifth place finishes have been the best achieved, coming in 1997 and 2009. Their 11 th place finish at the Bhubaneswar 2021 competition was an historic low for the Junior Green Shirts, who will be keen remind the world of their special talents here in Kuala Lumpur. Their silver medal at the Junior Asia Cup earlier this year could be a sign that, under the guidance of legendary Dutch coach Roelant Oltmans, the team have turned a corner. A narrow 2-1 loss to hosts India was their only defeat of the competition, with Abdul Rehman scoring nine times to finish joint top scorer and Hannan Shahid named player of the tournament. Shahid has also been impressing for Pakistan’s senior side, being named rising star of the tournament at August’s Hero Asian Champions Trophy, in Chennai, India. The team recently finished fourth on Malaysian turf at the Sultan of Johor Cup, with penalty corner expert Arbaz Ahmad scoring four times in the competition.