ABBOTTABAD, July 30: Balochistan regained National Youth soccer title after 25 years when they beat Wohaib Club 3-1 in a penalty shoot out on Saturday. The hotly-contested final saw Wohaib’s four players being booked while Balochistan’s Jaded Khan was sent off in the 25th minute for dangerous play.

Efforts from both sides did not bear fruit and the game ended in a 0-0 stalemate. Wohaib goalkeeper Bilal showed fine skills in tie-breaker and saved attempts of Abbas Ali and Mohammad Asghar but his efforts went in vain as his colleagues Nabeel Haider and Sohail put the ball wide of left upright while Adnan failed to beat Balochistan keeper Ghulam Nabi.

Wohaib’s lone scorer was Zeeshan while Balochistan’s successful penalty takers were Asmat Khan, Muhammad Idris and Masood Ahmed.

The game was decided on penalty kicks as there was no extra time due to rains.

Balochistan had clinched the title on May 16 in 1980, beating NWFP Reds 1-0.

Earlier, Naveed’s 48th-minute strike helped Higher Education Commission (HEC) defeat Islamabad 1-0 to claim third place.

Finals standings:

(1) Balochistan (2) Wohaib Club (3) HEC (4) Islamabad (5) Sindh (6) Army ( 7) Punjab (8) FATA (9) NWFP (10) Northern Areas (11) Azad Jammu & Kashmir (12) Islamabad Education Board.—APP