National Bank of Pakistan lifts the winning trophy of All Pakistan NBP Hockey Tournament

Lahore: National Bank of Pakistan outclassed Pakistan International Airlines 6-3 in the final of All Pakistan NBP Hockey Tournament at the National Hockey Stadium here on Saturday.

PIA were expecting a nail-biting finish in the final but had to face humiliation they had never dreamt. They took lead by scoring a goal in the first quart but lost their tempo afterward amid lack of combination among their forwards who failed to make any move. In the dying moments of the match Zubair of PIA missed a fair chance to score a goal.

On contrary the bankers completely dominated the final and gave little room to the PIA’s forwards to make any move. Though PIA took lead in the sixth minute of the match through Imran Khan’s field goal, the Captain of NBP Akhtar Ali leveled the score in the 11^th minute after a short struggle in the D. The bankers exerted pressure and made a very intelligent move through Ali and Amir in the 18^th minute. In the D Sabtain got the ball and neatly pushed it into the net. In the 20^th minute both Ali and Amir again made a productive move to create a pass for Ayyub in the D who made no mistake to score the third goal. The match entered into a thrilling stage and crowd enjoyed every move. PIA bounced back very hard and found space to reduce the lead.
Ehsanullah’s hard hit from the half-line was beautifully deflected by Waqas Akbar into the net in the 29^th minute. The bankers added three more goals in their tally of six goals. In the 43^rd minute Ayyub and Akhtar Ali created a chance for Bilal Qadir who scored a beautiful field goal. Ayyub scored the fifth, his second, goal in the 47^th minute. A fine move by Zubair and Ayyub earned a penalty corner for NBP in the 52^ndminute and Attique blew the final blow.

PIA’s Waqas Akbar scored his team’s third goal in the 54^th minute. Kamran Sharif and Rana Liaqat supervised the match. At the end Chief Guest President Pakistan Hockey Federation Ch. Akhtar Rasool gave away a cash prize of Rs. 50, 000 and Trophy to the winners and Rs. 35, 000.