Lahore -  Honda Chenab qualified for another main final after edging past Black Horse Paints/Artema Medical in the December Polo Cup 2017 match played here at the Lahore Polo Club (LPC) ground on Thursday.

Bilal Haye and Ahmed Ali Tiwana played key roles in Honda Chenab’s triumph with their tremendous three goals each while the remaining one came from Ghulam Mustafa Monnoo. From Black Horse Paints, Hamza Mawaz Khan played equally well but he couldn’t get better support and contribution from his teammates, which led his team to 7-5 defeat.

Black Horse Paints started the match having two goals handicap advantage but they couldn’t utilize their lead and conceded one goal in the first chukker to finish it 2-1. Ahmed Tiwana was the scorer. Honda Chenab then equalized the score in the beginning of the second chukker through Bilal Haye but Hamza Mawaz converted a 60-yard penalty successfully to give his team 3-2 edge once again.

A great team work was displayed by Honda Chenab in the third chukker, who slammed in three goals – two field goals and one 30-yard penalty hit – with Bilal Haye, Ghulam Mustafa Monnoo and Ahmed Tiwana scoring one goal each to put Honda Chenab 5-3 ahead while one goal was converted by Black Horse Paints through Hamza which reduced the gap to 5-4.

Right after the start of fourth and decisive chukker, Hamza successfully banged in a brilliant goal off 60-yard penalty to square the things. It was now anyone’s match as both the teams were struggling for victory. Once again, brilliance of Bilal Haye and Ahmed Tiwana helped Honda Chenab fire two field goals to register a convincing 7-5 victory and also a chance to qualify for the third main final in a row. Hissam Ali Hyder and Saqib Khan Khakwani supervised the match as field umpires.

Helped by six-star Saqib Khan Khakwani, Porsche outlasted Diamond Paints by 9-3 and booked berth in the subsidiary final. Saqib remained instrumental throughout the match as he not only scored superb six goals but also supported his teammates Agha Musa (2 goals) and Bilal Noon (1 goal). Only Mir Huzaifa (2 goal) and Raja Arslan Najeeb (1 goal) contributed from the losing side. Ahmad Nawaz Tiwana and Omar Asjad Malhi officiated the match as field umpires.

Today (Friday), the only match of the day will be contested between Newage and United Snacks Polo at 2:30 pm. The winning side will set final clash against Honda Chenab while the losing team will play subsidiary final against Porsche.

Our Staff Reporter