Hockey-5 championship begins with enthralling encounters

KARACHI: The first OGDCL five-a-side floodlight hockey tournament started at Lahore’s National Stadium on Saturday. 

In the first match, Islamabad Fighters thrashed Peshawar Panthers by 10-7.

Islamabad appeared a stronger outfit with a number of current Pakistan players. The capital outfit included Rizwan Sr and Rashid who had assisted Oranje Zwart to win the Dutch league this season. They also had Imran Butt, Pakistan’s current goalkeeper and Arslan Qadir, who top scored for Pakistan in their last two international outings.

But the youthful Peshawar side gave them a run for their money. They were never out of the game and fought well throughout.

Islamabad’s Ejaz, who debuted for Pakistan at the recent Azlan Shah Cup, scored the tournament’s first hat-trick.

The goal scorers for Islamabad Fighters were Ejaz Ahmed (3), Rashid Mahmood (2) and Rizwan Sr, Arslan Qadir, Faisal Qadir, Awaisur Rehman and Rizwan Ali (one each).

For Peshawar Panthers, Adeel Latif, Samiullah Khan and Khairullah scored two goals each. M Adnan netted one goal.

Rizwan Senior was declared man of the match.

The match between Lahore Lions and Faisalabad Falcons was drawn 9-9 after an exciting encounter.

This match kept the spectators on the edge of their seats throughout. The two evenly- matched sides fought out a wonderful battle with fortunes fluctuating throughout, but Lahore never gained the lead.

Faisalabad went ahead every time with their advantage extending to up to three goals at one stage.

Both captains, the current Pakistani internationals Dilber Hussain (Faisalabad) and Ammad Butt (Lahore), led from the front. Dilber, who scored four goals was also named man of the match.

Lahore’s young Bilal Mahmood scored a hat-trick. 

The other scorers for Faisalabad were Mohsin Sabir (2), Atif Mushtaq (2) and Mubashar Ali (1).

Lahore’s other scorers were Ammad Butt (2), Shan Irshad, Faizan, Azfar Yaqoob and Rana Sohail.

Quetta Warriors edged Karachi Sharks 5-4 in another thrilling encounter.  There was lackluster display by both the teams in the first period during which no goal was scored.

The emphasis was on long range tries with a lack of meaningful moves.

The match came alive in the second period with swift moves from both the sides. Goals arrived in plenty. First, Quetta went ahead 2-0. Karachi not only equalised but even went ahead 4-2.

Quetta made a remarkable recovery. It was initiated by perhaps the goal of the day by Fayyaz Yaqoob. After dribbling past two defenders he found the top of the cage with a high flick. With two further goals Quetta won the match. Quetta’s Kashif Javed was declared man of the match.

Quetta: Fayyaz Yaqoob (2), Asfandyar, Kashif Ali and Kashif Javed (one each). Karachi: Ali Raza, Saran bin Qamar, Sikander Mustafa and Qasim (one each).

The GOC 11 Div Maj Gen Fida Malik was the chief guest on the occasion.