Pakistan coach Shahid Ali admits his team was below par and said there is nothing that can justify the loss.

By Anshul Baijal

Pakistan coach Shahid Ali was devastated after his team lost the play-off for the 11th-12th place against Canada on Thursday. This was their worst ever performance in a World Cup: in 1986 they were one but last at 11th.

Ali admitted that it was the worst day in the history of Pakistan hockey. "I think this is the worst day in our history. This is our worst performance ever," he said.

Senior pros like Sohail Abbas and Rehan Butt were out of sorts during the tournament and Ali believes their poor form was one reason why they did not fare well.

"We have not left any outstanding talent behind. We had the best available team. It's just that they couldn't live up to the expectations," said Ali.

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The Pakistan team was in great form before the tournament. They reached the final of the Champions Challenge 1 and drew the two-match Test series against The Netherlands.

Pakistan coach believes his team peaked too early. "We were playing well before the start of the tournament. We did well to reach the final of the Champions Challenge and performed well against Holland but I think we peaked too early for the tournament," said Ali.

His Canadian counterpart Alan Brahmst, meanwhile, was happy to have not finished 12th, but was critical of his team's performance.

"Nobody wants to finish last in a World Cup. I am happy we finally won a game, but we were below par throughout the tournament," he said.

"We are ranked the 9th team in the tournament, so a top-8 finish was a realistic target, but unfortunately that did not happen," concluded the Canadian coach.