ISLAMABAD - Wapda routed Army Whites 6-0 in the 65th Muhammad Noor Khan National Hockey Championship 2019 match at Abdul Sattar Edhi National Hockey Stadium, Karachi on Tuesday.
While Wapda Whites also registered thumping 5-1 victory against Railways and in the last match of the day. SSGC edged past PIA 3-2. In the first match of the morning, played between Wapda and Army Whites, Wapda proved strong enough to outclass Army Whites 6-0. Army whites had displayed wonderful skills throughout the championship, but they were no match to mighty Wapda.
Despite dominating the entire first quarter, Wapda could only score one goal. The second quarter also witnessed the same pace as Wapda added two more goals to make it 3-0. In the third quarter, Wapda scored one more while in the fourth and last quarter, Wapda scored two more goals to register easy 6-0 victory. Rizwan Ali and Haleem Usman scored two goals each for the winners, while Tasawar Abbas and Aleem Bilal scored a goal each.
In the second match, Wapda Whites hammered Railways 5-1. Zahid Ullah and Suleman scored two goals each and Shajee Ahmed hit the fifth one for the winners. For the losing side, Abdul Basit scored the consolation goal.
In the last match of the day, SSGC had to dig deep to overcome spirited PIA 3-2. SSGC were enjoying 2-0 lead at the end of the first quarter, but PIA never gave up and continued to fight till the end. Mubashir Ali, Rana Sohail and Hamza Waheed slammed in a goal apiece for SSGC, while Shafqat Rasool and Roman Khan converted one each for PIA.
Talking to The Nation, PHF Staff Officer Tariq Mir said: “Heavy rain continued to lash the city and despite facing lot of hardships including load-shedding and heavy rain water, the ground staff did a remarkable job and ensured matches were played well in time. Now quarterfinal lineup has been drawn, which will be played from August 1. SSGC topped the group stage with 12 points, followed by PIA with 9 points.”