Pakistan, Aug. 23 -- Pakistan Hockey World Cup victory finally arrived after a 16-year wait as the national team defeated Japan 4-3 in the Netherlands. The classification-match win gave Pakistan its first success at the ongoing tournament and provided a major boost to the team.

Rana Waheed led Pakistan's scoring effort by finding the net twice against Japan. Hannan Shahid and Hammad also scored once each as Pakistan held on for a narrow victory in a closely contested match.

The result marked Pakistan's first Hockey World Cup win since 2010, when the team defeated Spain 2-1. Since then, Pakistan missed the 2014 tournament and failed to register a victory during the 2018 edition.

Meanwhile, the victory ended a difficult period for Pakist...