60th NBP National Hockey Championship Trophy

Lahore – Pakistan, Dec 29, 2013: National Bank of Pakistan defeated defending champion PIA 4-3 in a thrilling final, ended in the sudden death stage, to clinch the coveted Trophy of the 60th NBP National Hockey Championship at the Johar Hockey Stadium here on Sunday.

The hotly contested final was a replica of the two semifinals in which two top teams which had the services of Olympians and international players fought very hard to outshine each other in the stipulated 70 minutes session. The result remained 2-2 at the end and the match went into the penalty shoots’ stage which also ended into a draw.

Finally, it reached to the nerve-breaking sudden death stage where the bankers controlled their nerves better than the airmen and their forward Ali Shan scored the winning goal amid jubilation of his team’s players and the crowd.

The final started at a slow pace as both team took some time to set the tempo of the match. After that the crowd witnesses a series of attacks and counter attacks by both teams. PIA took lead in the 9th minute through Mohammed Zubair who converted a penalty corner. Shafqat Rasool scored a field goal in the 22nd minute to give his team a 2-0 lead which remained till the end of the first half.

The Bankers appeared in a different in the second half. They showed aggression in their game and worked very hard to keep the possession of the ball through accurate passing for a considerable time. Their forwards made some productive moves to electrify the crowd who enjoyed an exciting encounter. Dilber took control of the ball in the 43rd minute and scored the first goal for the NBP.

In the 65th minute of the play Kashif Rasul scored the second goal for the Bankers on a penalty corner. Speaker national Assembly Sardar Ayaz Sadiq was the chief guest of the match who was introduced with the players before the start of the final

Earlier, WAPDA beat Sui Southern Gas Company 5-4 to obtain third position in the Championship. From WAPDA Zubair (21st min), Tasawar Abbas (32nd min), Zubair Riaz (33rd min) and Mohammed Imran (50th and 69th mints) scored goals. While Yasir (7th and 46th mints), Yasir (46th min) and Mubashir Ali (60th min) scored the goals. —- PHF