Florida (TDI): Pakistan’s men’s ice hockey team has won its first-ever international championship by winning the Amerigol LATAM Cup Division III title in Coral Springs, Florida.
The news came on Thursday, when the team defeated Peru in the final, in a 6–1 victory to complete the championship undefeated all along. This was a dramatic reversal from their debut appearance last year, where they managed only one win.
The LATAM Cup drew extensive participation, featuring over 62 men, women, and youth teams, as well as exhibition squads from 17 countries, turning Pakistan’s victory into a watershed moment. For audiences back home, the ice hockey win is no less than a grand celebration, for hockey is the country’s national game.
Pakistan’s women team also delivered head-turning results in their inaugural international matches. Competing in Division II, the squad clinched a bronze medal.
The head coach of the team, Dr. Kameron Sabir, who is a Canadian physician from Edmonton, hailed this victory as “an amazing day for the country and ice hockey.”
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Sabir lauded both men and women teams: “You can’t do better than this, first gold, first cup. And hats off to the women, they did such an amazing job in their first tournament.”
Ice hockey is not a very popular sport in Pakistan on a domestic level. There are no play areas and infrastructure for such tournaments. This makes the win even more profound because the team pulled it through despite these limitations.
This win is a turning point for winter sports in a country where ice is scarce and players have little room to practice year round. But athletes are still just as enthusiastic, and take the opportunity whenever it comes.
In just a short span of time, brilliant athletes from Pakistan have made their mark internationally, often coming from backgrounds where they had to practice in a personal capacity.
Established in December 2008, The Diplomatic Insight is Pakistan’s premier diplomacy and foreign affairs magazine, available in both digital and print formats.
