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KARACHI, Jan 1: Aided by a scintillating hat trick from Rizwan Butt, Lahore steamrolled Mekran 24-1 in the 50th national hockey championship qualifying round opener at UBL Sports Complex Wednesday.
Hapless Mekran watched helplessly as Lahore hammered in no less than nine goals before going for the break.
Lahore got off to a blazing start with six-goal Rizwan scoring his first in the second minute of the game and adding another four minutes later. Rizwan did not face much trouble in completing his treble in the 10th minute and netting his fourth in the 19th minute.
Zubair Riaz’s 20th-minute goal was followed by two-goal burst from Zulfiqar in the 23rd and 29th minute, while Asif Bilal and Hafizullah had their names onto the scoresheet in the 30th and 34th minutes.
Lahore, with the cushion of a nine-goal lead, continued to tear the Mekran defence apart yet into the second half and went berserk by scoring 15 more.
The floodgates opened soon after restart as Zulfiqar pulled another in the 38th minute, Zubair converted a penalty stroke in the 40th minute, Hafiz got another in the 41st minute, and Rana Mohiuddin netted two minutes later.
Lahore continued target practice with Hafiz and Rizwan-ul-Haq adding two quickfire goals each. Hafiz came into action in the 47th and 48th minutes, while Rizwan banged home in the 51st and 53rd minutes.
Zahid Shafiq and Hafiz found the cage in the 54th and 55th minutes, Rizwan Butt sounded the backboards in the 57th minute, and Hafiz scored in the 60th minute.
A 61st-minute effort by Zeeshan Babar was the only consolation for Mekran.
Unstoppable Lahore pumped in three quick goals in the 62nd, 63rd and 64th minutes through Usman Akram, Rizwan Butt, and Zubair to complete Mekran’s punishment.
Earlier, in another one-sided encounter, Kohat gave first- timers Naseerabad a hockey lesson when they registered a thumping 15-0 victory.
Kohat raced to a 6-0 lead before the lemon time, breaking the ice in the fourth minute through Tariq Hussain. M. Mehdi struck twice in the 7th and 17th minutes, Aijaz Hussain slammed home in the 21st minute, Mehdi got his second in the 28th minute, while Ramzan Ali made it 6-0 a minute before the halftime whistle.
Ramzan got his second two minutes into second half off a short corner, Mehdi added two in the 49th minute and 50th minutes. Aijaz (51st, 60th minute), Ghulam Nabi (52nd, 63rd, 68th minute), and Kashif (68th minute) were the other scorers.
Karachi ‘A’ staved off a mild challenge from Sargodha to score a 4-1 triumph in the last game of the day.
The local side went 1-0 up after a 12th-minute stroke converted by captain Asadullah, and Imran Ali Khan blasted home a Wasif Raza pass in the 22nd minute.
Sargodha offered resistance when they reduced the margin with a penalty corner conversion by Shahid Mahmood in the 28th minute.
Karachi ‘A’ forged 3-1 ahead with Mansoor Sheikh chipping in with a 40th-minute goal off a short corner. Wasif completed the rout in the 66th minute.
Thursday’s fixtures:
Mekran v Sargodha 11.30pm; Karachi ‘A’ v Naseerabad 1.30pm; Lahore v Kohat 3.30pm.
OUR SPORTS REPORTER ADDS FROM Rawalpindi:
Rawalpindi swamped Nawabshah 5-0 Wednesday at the ARL Naseer Bunda Ground.
Kazim Abbas scored a brace while Asif Butt, Jameel and Tahfoor struck once each to seal victory for Rawalpindi.
Rawalpindi were too strong for their opponents and pinned them down by launching massive attacks.
In the day’s second match, Multan were awarded a walkover after Mirpur Khas boys did not turn up. Mardan on the other hand squeezed past Quetta 2-1 with goals from Aurangzeb and Naveed. Ajmal was on target for Quetta.
AJ&K routed D.I.Khan 4-0 to complete the day’s card, Abid and Sohrab putting in two goals each.
This round of the championship has eight teams that have been divided into two pools.
Thursday’s fixtures: D.I.Khan v Mardan, Quetta v AJ&K, Rawalpindi v Mirpur Khas, Multan v Nawabshah.
APP adds: Two score by inside-left Muhammad Saleem drove Dera Ghazi Khan to register 4-0 victory against Northern Areas in Peshawar.
Debutante Northern Areas, who were granted playing rights for the first time had many chances but poor finishing marred let the team down.
Leading 3-0 at half-time, Dera Ghazi Khan completed the tally with another goal in the second session.
Muhammad Saleem struck in in the 15th and 42nd minute while fullback Muhammad Azhar and inside right Babar Hassan also got their names on the scoresheet.
In the second match Bahawalpur held Gujranwala to a scoreless draw.
