PIA, SSGC and NBP move to next round of First Chief of the Army Staff Challenge Hockey Cup

Lahore: Pakistan International Airlines, Sui Southern Gas Company and National Bank of Pakistan have won their matches in the First Chief of the Army Staff Challenge Hockey Cup at the Army Hockey Stadium here on Sunday. PIA beat Police 4-2, SSGC beat Navy 2-0 and NBP defeated Army (Juniors) 5-0. The Event is a joint venture of Pakistan Hockey Federation and Army Sports Directorate. PHF Secretary General Rana Mujahid along with national selector Mussadaq also witnessed the match.

PIA struggled to beat Police in the opening match of the day. The airliners struck a penalty corner in the 2^nd minute to get lead. They scored two more goals in the 16^th and 32^nd minutes through Awais Rehman and Atif Mushtaq respectively. Police made a counter attack soon after conceding the third goal and Atif Baig’s field goal reduced the margin in the 33^rd minute. Atif again struck a field goal in the 53^rd minute to press airliners who immediately realized the gravity of the situation and Awais scored the fourth goal, his second, for his team in the 56^th minute to end the match at 4-2.

Second match between Navy and SSGC was played in an hyperactive atmosphere during which players of both teams continued yelling at each other. Some were also involved in heated arguments with the field Umpires who were forced to issue them cards. The tense atmosphere travelled with the tempo of the game. Akbar Ali of SSGC scored first field goal for his team in the 7^th minute. But after that they faced stiff resistance from the Sailors who displayed their muscles to effectively check their inroads into their area. Mohammed Sabir scored their second goal in the 48^th minute. Mohammed Zahid and Haroon Rasheed supervised the match.

Though last match of the day between NBP and Army (Junior) proved a one sided affair in the end yet the latter fought hard throughout the match. It was a battle between sheer experience and upcoming talent in which the juniors gave stiff resistance to their opponents comprising Olympians. They conceded one goal in the first quart and defended their fort effectively in the second. In between they made some good moves to puzzle their experienced opponents. They conceded four more goals in the third quart but demonstrated great resolute in the last and bravely defended their area during which the bankers failed to make any dent in their defense.

After taking lead in the 11^th minute through Shah Irshad the bankers scored four more goals in the third quart. Toseeq Arshad converted a penalty stroke in the 32^nd minute and Mohammed Abbas struck in the 34^th on a penalty corner. In the 40^th minute Sibtain Raza and Abbas in the 44^th minutes scored field goals. Rana Sajid and Sohail Janjua supervised the match.