Sultan of Johor Cup 2026: Pakistan reach the final against Malaysia after 2-2 draw with Japan

Pakistan are in the Sultan of Johor Cup 2026 final. The junior men's hockey team drew 2-2 with Japan on Friday at the Taman Daya Hockey Stadium in Johor Bahru, and that was just enough to finish second in the round-robin and set up a final against hosts Malaysia on Saturday, 24 October, Dawn reported.

How Pakistan qualified

Pakistan and Japan both finished the league stage on seven points with a goal difference of +8. The tie went to goals scored, and Pakistan's 18 beat Japan's 16. Pakistan twice came from behind on Friday: Hamza Fayyaz equalised in the 34th minute and Ghulam Mustafa in the 43rd.

Malaysia, unbeaten in the tournament, had already qualified for the final before the last round of matches.

Pakistan's results at the Sultan of Johor Cup 2026

Two wins, a draw and a defeat gave Pakistan seven points. The only loss came against Malaysia, who beat them 3-2 in the league stage, so Saturday is a rematch with the team that has already had the better of them this week.

The final: Pakistan vs Malaysia

The final is on Saturday at the same stadium in Johor Bahru. Malaysia is three hours ahead of Pakistan, so an evening start there lands in the afternoon in Pakistan; the organisers had not confirmed the pushback time in the reports we read. We will add the PKT time and the result here.

Pakistan's attack has been the story of the tournament: 18 goals in four matches, eight of them against China in the opener. The defence has been less steady, conceding against every opponent, and Malaysia scored three against them in the league stage.

Why the junior tournament matters

The Sultan of Johor Cup is an under-21 invitational and one of the few regular international events for Pakistan's junior players, many of whom are the next generation for the senior side. A title in Malaysia would be a lift for Pakistan hockey at a time when the senior team is trying to climb back up the world rankings.

For more sport in Pakistan time, see our cricket and sport coverage and the Asian Games 2026 schedule in Pakistan time.