Pakistan is expected to qualify for the next year’s Junior World Cup hockey tournament.

However, winning the forthcoming eight-nation Junior Asia Cup in India will be a great morale-booster for the side.

The last time Pakistan won the tournament was 29 years ago (in 1979) in Versailles.

In the last Junior World Cup in Rotterdam, Pakistan’s performance was disappointing, finishing seventh in the 12-nation tournament (which was won by Argentina).

The junior Asia Cup, which is a qualifying round for the Junior (Under-21) World Cup, was supposed to be held in New Delhi; but the venue was shifted to India’s southern city of Hyderabad where the tournament starts on July 11.

Three matches are scheduled on the opening day and Pakistan, placed in the four- team Pool B, will play its first match against Oman.

Originally 10 teams entered the Junior Asia Cup event but subsequently Sri Lanka and Thailand opted out reducing the event to an eight-team contest. It shows that the men’s field hockey in Asia is on the decline and there is an urgent need for the promotion of the game in the region. Eight teams have been placed in two pools and top two teams of each pool will qualify for semifinals and final. Pakistan and South Korea from Pool B and India and Malaysia from Pool A are likely to qualify for the last four.

Pool A: India, Malaysia, Japan and Singapore.

Pool B: Pakistan, South Korea, Oman and Bangladesh.

Since Malaysia and Singapore are co-hosts of the 2009 Junior World Cup they stand qualified leaving six teams in the field to fill four places for qualifiers. Singapore and Malaysia are competing in the tournament to gain experience.

Pakistan has entered the Asia Cup determined to win the tournament. Earlier, the team toured Kenya, Egypt and South Africa and played a series of matches there. Pakistan also competed in the eight-nation junior tournament held early this year in Kuala Lumpur and finished fourth.

During the last 14 months Pakistani junior players, getting trained under the supervision of manager-cum-chief coach Jahangir Butt, had enough tours which started with the twin trip of Kenya and Egypt in April last year as part of preparation for the Junior Asia Cup. Hockey followers are entertaining the hope that Pakistan, under the captaincy of attacker Shafqat Rasool, will succeed in winning the tournament.