ZTBL clinched the Suzuki Vitara Polo Cup 2016 trophy after trouncing Pebble Breakers by 81/2-3 in the final played here at the Lahore Polo Club (LPC) ground on Sunday.
Saqib Khan Khakwani played the final superbly and not only scored tremendous three goals but also provided all-out support to his team-mates to score crucial goals, which guided their team to impressive triumph. Besides Saqib, Mumtaz Abbas Niazi and Taimur Mawaz Khan also displayed quality polo and scored a brilliant brace each while Emran Akthar contributed one goal. From the losing side, Ahmed Ali Tiwana slammed a brace while Agha Musa Ali Khan hit a goal.
The match started with a field goal by Mumtaz Niazi to give ZTBL, which had half goal handicap advantage, 11/2-0 lead. Agha Musa then scored for Pebble Breakers to make it 11/2-1, but Saqib then hit a fantastic field goal to finish the first chukker at 21/2-1. The second chukker was fully dominated by ZTBL as Taimur Mawaz Khan scored tremendous two goals to provide his team 41/2-1 lead.
Saqib started the third chukker with his field goal to strengthen ZTBL's lead to 51/2-1. Pebble Breakers then make a comeback by slamming two goals through Ahmed Ali Tiwana to make it 51/2-3. The fourth and last chukker was once again dominated by ZTBL as they hammered a hat-trick - one goal each was scored by Mumtaz Abbas, Saqib Khakwani and Emran Akhtar - to finish the match, having 81/2-3 lead. Omar Asjad Malhi and Juan Jose supervised the match as field umpires.
The second match of the day saw Guard Group/Newage making a strong comeback to win the subsidiary final in a great style against Momin Ghee by 6-5. Hissam Ali Hyder was the player who lifted the down and out Guard Group team, which was losing the match till the end of the third chukker, but Hissam then played outstanding polo and guided Guard Group to thrilling triumph. Hissam slammed fabulous four goals from the winning side while Taimur Ali Malik and Adnan Jalil Azam hit one goal apiece. From the losing side, Ahmed Zubair Butt scored a quartet and Arslan Najeeb hit one goal. Saqib Khan Khakwani was field umpire.
Pak Suzuki Motor General Manager Staff Regional Head Syed Wajahan Ali graced the final as chief guest while LPC president Irfan Ali Hyder, Suzuki Township Motors CEO Mir Shoaib Ahmad, Suzuki Deputy Marketing Manager Ubaid Ahmad, ZTBL Sports Head Colonel (R) Khalid Mehmood, LPC executive committee members and a larger number of polo enthusiasts were also present on the occasion.
In the end, the chief guests gave away trophy and souvenirs to the winners.
Comments
Comments are closed for this article.