Punjab and KPK stormed into the final

Lahore: Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) stormed into the final of Inter-Provincial U-14 Hockey Championship after inflicting heavy defeats on their respective opponents in the semifinals here at National Hockey Stadium on Friday. Punjab thrashed Gilgit Baltistan by 4-1 while KP outplayed Balochistan by 6-0 in the two semifinals played under cloudy conditions. The final of the event will start at 4.30pm at the same venue on Saturday and before the decisive game, Gilgit Baltistan and Balochistan will clash in 3^rd/4^th place match at 3.00pm.

Punjab boys showed superb stick work and ball control during their dominating performance. Ahmed Ali, Ibrar Ahmed, M Kamran Asghar and Waqas Ahmed, who all scored one goal each, played key role in the big victory of their team. Moazzam netted the only goal for the losing team.

Gilgit Baltistan boys tried their best to break the stranglehold of Punjab but they could not succeed in their attempt. Punjab managed to take seven penalty corners while Gilgit Baltistan failed to earn a single one. Mian Obaid ur Rehman and Mushtaq Ahmed were the umpires of the match.

Earlier, KP boys demonstrated brilliant game in the first semifinal and kept their opponents on the back foot all the time. They left the Balochistan boys toiled for the ball throughout the match.

KP’s striker Nabeel was in the form of his life. He struck four goals through his individual efforts. The remaining two goals were shared by Fawad and Zakir. KP got one penalty corner in the entire match. The match was supervised by Mushtaq Ahmed and M Afzal.