Umpire clobbered in hockey championship

KARACHI: SSGC’s Mohammad Javed has been suspended from the National Hockey Championship after he hit umpire Haider Rasool with his hockey stick during his team’s match against Habib Bank Limited (HBL) yesterday.

According to tournament director Iftikhar Syed, the strictest possible action was taken against Javed and added that further disciplinary action will be taken by the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) and SSGC .

Hat-tricks galore

Meanwhile, in the championship, Kashif Ali scored yet another hat-trick as he guided PIA to a 7-2 win against Pakistan Air Force. Ali converted his team’s first, second and fifth penaltycorners to register his second hat-trick of the tournament and was complemented by Olympian Muhammad Zubair brace to secure the win.

In the eventful match of the day during which umpire Rasool was hit, HBL defeated SSGC 3-1. Rizwan Khan, Rana Zubair and captain Adeel Hussain scored one goal each to condemn SSGC to the defeat. Port Qasim beat KESC 6-2 courtesy of the second hat-trick of the day, this time by Kashif Jawad.