NBP crowned Junior Hockey champions

KARACHI: National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) defeated Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) by 2-0 in the 35th National Junior Hockey Championship final on Saturday to clinch the title at National Hockey Stadium in Lahore on Saturday.

The thrilling showdown, which was played under floodlights, was enjoyed by a large crowd who turned up to show their support.

They did not have to wait long for the action as in the 3rd minute of the match, SSGC’s Ali Raza, Asif Iqbal and Mohammad Asim launched a fine move which was foiled by NBP goalkeeper who displayed great agility.

NBP took lead in the 7th minute as Azfar Yaqoob took the ball from half-line and sprinted towards the circle where he gave a pass to Mohammad Dilbar, who neatly pushed to ball in the net.

Despite NBP’s early lead, SSGC demonstrated great skills and made couple of fine forays during the first quarter.

In the 29th minute, NBP got their fourth penalty corner which Abu Bakar Mehmood successfully converted to double the bankers’ lead. The match, which was being played under wet conditions, picked up further pace and entered into an interesting phase during the last two quarters as SSGC exerted pressure and intensified their efforts in search of a goal.

The spectators cheered as SSGC forward Adeel Latif displayed brilliant stick work and spearheaded a couple of fine moves. He triggered an attack with Zeeshan Bukhari in the 39th minute but NBP goalkeeper once again stopped a hard hit by Zeeshan.

Through another move in the 48th minute, Adeel and Samiullah earned third penalty corner for their team but could not convert.

The final was supervised by Sohail Janjua and Abdul Mannan.

Chief guest, Director General Sports Board Punjab, Usman Anwar gave away cash prize of Rs500,000 to NBP’s winning captain Mohammad Atiq, while SSGC skipper Mohammad Rizwan received cash award of Rs300,000.

Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) president Khalid Sajjad Khokhar, Secretary General Shahbaz Ahmed Sr, Director General Mussaratullah Khan and Tournament Director Col Sikandar Ghumman were also present.

Earlier, the match between Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (w) and Army for the third position could not be played due to rain. Both teams were declared joint winners and shared Rs200,000 prize money.