LAHORE: The 29th Junior National Hockey Championship kicked off with five matches played on the opening day at the National Hockey Stadium Lahore. The 17- team event was inaugurated by the Punjab Hockey Association President Rao Waseem.
Punjab Reds beat Balochistan
The opening match of the day witnessed a solitary goal, scored by Punjab Reds’ Hammad Zafar as Balochistan failed to break through their defence despite a flurry of penalty corners. They did, however, worked hard to prevent more goals but the 27th-minute strike ultimately gave Punjab maximum points.
KP Colours thrashed by Punjab Blues
Punjab Blues set the tournament alight with a 7-0 drubbing of Khyber-Pukhtunkhwa (KP) Colours. Punjab’s Kaleem netted the first goal in the 11th minute and scored his second in the 45th minute off a penalty corner. Sadam, captain Khurrum Rasheed, Zafar Saddiq, Zakir and Sami Ullah scored one goal each.
Sindh Colours overcome KP Whites
Sindh Colours thrashed KP Whites 4-1 in the third match of the day. Sindh’s Asad Hussain and Faisal netted a goal each in the first half to obtain a convincing lead. Later Faizan Khan and Ahmed Ghaffar added two further goals to seal the convincing win. Although KP Whites fought hard to find a consolation goal, by Kasim in the 60th minute, it came a little too late.
Pakistan Boards draw with NBP
A thrilling contest between Pakistan Boards and National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) ended as a 1-1 draw. After a goal-less first half, NBP’s Mohammad Faisal Qadir of NBP scored the first goal of the match but his strike was cancelled out by Rana Sohail in the 62nd minute to share honours.
Sindh Whites drub Islamabad
Sindh Whites beat Islamabad Region 8-4 in the late match of the day. The match was tied 3-3 at half-time but Sindh romped to victory by lashing out in the second half to register maximum points.
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