Lahore Lions clinch women hockey title

KARACHI: Holders Lahore Lions defeated spirited Peshawar Lions 1-0 in an absorbing final of the 2nd Women Hockey Super League at the National Hockey Stadium, Lahore.

Areeba Sarwar scored the all important goal. The two sides began in a cautious manner. There were hardly any circle penetrations or goal attempts in the first quarter.

The match became fully alive in the second quarter.Good up and down stuff ensued with fine moves from the two sides.

Peshawar earned a penalty corner fetched by their main play maker Maira Sabir but failed to cash in on it.In the 24th minute, Lahore had their first PC. After three touches, ball reached Areeba close to the goal who brilliantly dived to flick the ball into the net.

The second half also saw fast-paced game with both the sides entering the opposite circle. There were open chances as well as penalty corners.Lahore earned six PCs while four came Peshawar’s way.

Earlier, in the third position play off, Karachi Dolphins riding on Tehmina Mustafa’s hat-trick defeated Quetta Panthers 6-3.Mahnoor, Iqra Iqbal and Zarah were the other scorers for Karachi.

For Quetta, Iqra Hanif, Kulsoom Shahzadi and Momal were the scorers. Lahore got Rs100,000 and Peshawar got richer by Rs75,000. Karachi, Quetta and Islamabad were given Rs50,000 each.Player of Tournament: Shahrika Sarwar (Lahore)Top Scorer: Tehmina Mustafa (Karachi)Best Goalkeeper: Rushna Khan (Lahore’s captain)All three were rewarded Rs10,000 each.