Lahore will host the SAF Games Hockey Championship from April 4 to 11, with seven South Asian teams taking part.
According to reports, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka will be joined by Nepal, the Maldives and Bhutan.
A few days back, the Pakistan Hockey Federation had expressed overall satisfaction with the national team’s improved performance at the FIH Hockey World Cup 2026, held in Belgium and the Netherlands.
Pakistan qualified for the World Cup after a long absence and produced a much better performance than in previous events, according to a PHF spokesperson.
The team opened the tournament with a 4-1 defeat to England, then held Wales to a 3-3 draw in their second Pool D match. Pakistan then lost 5-3 to India and 4-2 to New Zealand as they moved into the classification rounds.
In the classification stage, Pakistan defeated Japan before beating South Africa 4-3 in a penalty shootout to finish 11th overall. The result marked Pakistan’s best World Cup finish in 20 years, having placed 12th in both the 2010 and 2018 editions and having failed to qualify for the 2014 and 2023 tournaments.
Their best-ever finish came in 2006, when they placed sixth.
