LAHORE: Pakistan men’s hockey team were ousted from the run to the semifinals at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games 2018 hockey tournament after England and India beat Wales and Malaysia respectively in Australia on Tuesday. Pakistan were able to extract three draw from their first three matches against Wales (1-1), India (2-2) and England (2-2) to gather only three points and were left reeling on the third spot. With their latest victories, England and India rule the Pool B’s chart with seven points each in the Commonwealth Games 2018 being played in the Gold Coast, Australia. Meanwhile, New Zealand and Australia have qualified for the semifinal from men’s Pool A with nine points each. Pakistan are yet to face Malaysia on April 11 (today), however, even in the case of a victory, chances of qualifying for the semifinals are non-existent. Both Pakistan and Malaysia currently have three points each. However, all is not lost for Pakistan as their captain Muhammad Rizwan wants to fight for the fifth spot after they take on Malaysia on Wednesday. A win would pit them in a fifth-sixth place match, while a loss would push them into a seventh-eighth place match. “Malaysia have won only one match in the competition and they are not doing well,” Rizwan was quoted as saying Tuesday. “So, we have a chance against them as we are in a good form and we want to win that last pool match.” He then rued the missed opportunities which led to three draws on the trot. “It is sad that we missed the chance to play for a medal in the Games,” he said. “I wish we had done better in the previous matches so we could have been in a better position. “Still, we want to end on the best spot possible. We will have to finish at the fifth spot now.We can’t afford a defeat now.” Always all-praise for the new Pakistan coach Roelant Oltmans, Rizwan said he was working hard with players once again so that they were in the best form against Malaysia. “Each and every player is working hard,” said Rizwan. “It is good to see the players put an extra effort in training and we so hope this reaps positive results for Pakistan.” Published in Daily Times, April 11th 2018.