Karachi: From putting on a disastrous show in the national sport, Hockey, to achieving historic milestones in Football, Mountaineering and Snooker. Here’s a brief review of an eventful 2023 for Pakistan in major sports, barring Cricket.

2023 ushers fresh hopes for Pakistan Football While the year 2022 was a sigh of relief for Pakistan football as the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) lifted the ban on the country and restored its international status, this year had some important firsts and historic achievements for the nation in the sport.

Pakistan men’s football team participated in two major tournaments this year – a four-nation tournament and the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Championship. The national team gave it their all in both tournaments but still ended up winless. But that was not all as the Men in Green finally gave their fans a moment to cherish when they edged Cambodia 1-0 in Leg 2 of the first round of the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers. This was Pakistan’s first-ever victory in the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers which powered them to the second round of FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifiers, for the first time. Pakistan then took on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and Tajikistan in the Leg 1 of the second round of the World Cup Qualifiers. The team, however, failed to bank on their positive momentum and received a 4-0 and 6-1 thrashing from KSA and Tajikistan respectively.

The defeats, however, did not rule Pakistan out of the qualification race as they have plenty to fight for, but next year. The national women’s football team also glimmered a ray of hope for a better future in the sport with two major victories in 2023. Pakistan’s women’s team began their journey to success in January 2023 with a second-place finish in the Four Nation Cup held in Saudi Arabia. They started the tournament on a positive note as they edged Comoros 1-0 courtesy of Anmol Hira’s late winner to claim their second consecutive victory since FIFA lifted the ban on the Pakistan Football Federation last year.

 Their brief winning run was soon hindered by Mauritius, who beat them 2-1. The women’s team then settled for a hard-fought 1-1 draw against Saudi Arabia to finish second. After a successful tournament, the Pakistan women’s football team set their sights on the Paris Olympics Qualifier. But they did not fare well in the Qualifiers and bowed out of the qualification race as they lost 2-0 to Hong Kong and 4-0 to the Philippines in the first two group games before claiming a historic victory over Tajikistan. The 1-0 victory over Tajikistan marked Pakistan women’s first major victory since their international return. Previously, they had only tasted triumphs in friendly matches or exhibition tournaments like the four-nation cup in Saudi Arabia.

Pakistan continued sinking to new lows in their national sport Hockey as the year 2023 marked another disappointing year for the national team. The national men’s team participated in one major tournament this year the Asian Champions Trophy as they failed to qualify for yet another World Cup.

Published in The Daily National Courier, January, 01 2024

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