Pakistan’s Senior and Junior Men Both Sit 12th in the World Rankings
Twelfth in the world. Twice over. Pakistan’s senior men and junior men both sit 12th in the FIH rankings, and the senior side’s climb there tells you plenty about where this team has been.
The seniors are on 2,555.60 points. That’s a long way from July 2022, when Pakistan sank to 20th, their lowest-ever ranking. They’re now the second-highest Asian side in the world, behind only India in 8th on 3,173.13 points. Malaysia are 14th on 2,526.03, Japan 15th and South Korea 20th.
The juniors match them exactly. They’re 12th too, on 967.50 points, and the third-highest Asian junior side behind India in 4th and Malaysia in 11th. Two teams, same number, same direction of travel.
How the seniors got there
The Asian Games did the heavy lifting. Pakistan beat China 3-0, Oman 7-2 and South Korea 5-3, and that Korea win was the big one. The News reports it earned Pakistan 40.21 ranking points and lifted them from 14th to 12th.
It could have been better. Pakistan lost 4-5 to Malaysia, a defeat The News reports cost them 72.29 points, and went down 3-4 to India. Those two results are the gap between 12th and something much better. Beat one of them and the conversation changes completely.
That’s the story of this Pakistan side in a nutshell. Good enough to beat Korea and climb the table. Not yet good enough to beat the teams directly above them. The Azlan Shah Cup in Ipoh later this month is the next chance to change that, with Australia, Malaysia, Korea, Canada and the USA all in the field.
What 12th actually means
Twelfth is respectable. It’s not where Pakistan want to be, and it’s not where their history says they should be. But after the 20th-place low of 2022, it’s a recovery with real momentum behind it, and the junior side sitting at the same number suggests the pipeline isn’t empty.
The next ranking update that matters will come after Ipoh. A strong Azlan Shah Cup, especially a win over Malaysia or Korea, would push the seniors further up. A poor one, and 12th starts looking like a ceiling rather than a step.
