 "Hockey ACT: Pakistan coach elated after team's 1-1 draw vs defending champs")
Pakistan head coach Muhammad Saqlain on Friday said his young side has surprised everyone by holding defending champions South Korea to 1-1 draw in their second match of the Asian Champions Trophy here.
However, he rued that playing back-to-back matches was a bit tedious task for his unit.
Pakistan is coming off a 1-3 defeat against Malaysia on Thursday and remains winless in the opening two meetings, managing just a point.
"We have surprised everyone today. If you look at the side we have, most of the players do not have the experience of playing more than two or three international games. So, international exposure is very important here," he said after the draw.
"It was a very beautiful tie. Korea is the fittest side in the world. We played back-to-back matches, which is quite tough, considering we have a very young team."
"We played according to our stature and we again missed many chances. Our luck is not favouring us either. I hope to get some time with this team, maybe one or two years. It could be a brilliant team in the world," he added.
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Pakistan continued to struggle with penalty corner conversions with Saqlain explaining that missing drag-flicker Arbaz Ahmad proved to be costly for them.
"Our main drag-flicker Arbaz Ahmad was not available today, having suffered an issue with his disc in his back. His absence was a big loss for us, as we could not convert the short corners into goals. Hope to have him back for the Asian Games."
Saqlain said the stay here has been enjoyable so far and had special praise for the food of the city.
"I was here the last time international hockey was played at this venue. The crowd has been fantastic. We have enjoyed it so far and we are looking forward to the India contest."
"The people here are very kind and helpful. It feels like we are not in India but in Pakistan. The food is very good, I love it. From golgappe, to aloo chaat, aloo masala and biriyani, everything is available. When our boys saw mutton biriyani, they simply pounced on it," he signed off.