Lahore Lions clinch nail-biter against Vancouver Lions

Lahore: Sports Board Punjab’s kabaddi team Lahore Lions regained their winning touch when they edged out Vancouver Lions by 55-54 after a nail-biting contest at Burlton Park Jalandhar Hockey Stadium Jalandhar, India on Saturday night.

According to information made available here, the Lahore Lions were extra cautious about their performance in the match after their defeat in the previous match at the hands of California Eagles. Lahore Lions, after losing the first quarter without much resistance at 17-13, bounced back magnificently and clinched the second and third quarters with the scores of 14-12 and 15-11. Vancouver Lions looked confident and geared up after their win in their last match. However after a nerve wrecking tussle of 40 minutes, Lahore Lions managed to defeat the Vancouver Lions by 54-55.

SBP kabaddi team started their match with two changes. Firstly, they handed over the captaincy to Shafiq Ahmad Chishti and then launched stopper Mohammad Ramzan in the role of raider. Vancouver Lions raider Gagandeep Sabrawa and stopper Gagandeep Satti started the game with excellent performance for their team.

On the other hand, Lahore Lions star raider Akmal Shahzad Dogar was seen struggling to gain points for his team. He missed three vital opportunities that put his team under pressure and helped Vancouver Lions to build a strong lead. The quarter ended with the score of 17-13 in favour of Vancouver Lions.

The second quarter started with successful raids by Lahore Lions’ Rehman Ishtiaq, who earned valuable points for his team. In response, the Lions from Vancouver were no less in performance and their star raider Sucha Singh scored points for his team.

The quarter saw neck-to-neck competition between both the teams for taking the lead position. Shafiq Chishti and Rehman Ishtiaq of Lahore Lions were the star raiders of their team with three successful raids each to their credit. After a tussle of 10 minutes, Lahore Lions managed to win the second quarter by 14-12 and reduce the overall deficit to 29-27.

In the penultimate quarter, Lahore Lions offered some pulsating performance for which they are known in the world kabaddi circles. They tackled the opposite raiders quite professionally. Raider Akmal Shahzad Dogar of Lahore Lions who failed to earn any point in the first quarter, came back in the game and grabbed many points for his team through six successful raids in the 3rd quarter. Shafiq Chisti and Gagandeep also excelled for their respective teams in this quarter. Till the end of third quarter, Lahore Lions had an overall lead of 42-40.

The fourth quarter of the match was an absolute nail biting one where both the teams were trying their level best to snatch the game from each other. Shafiq Chishti, who was later adjudged Man of the Match and Best Raider with 24 raids, was the star raider of the quarter who took the winning point for the Lahore Lions.