KARACHI, Sept 8: Two clinical strikes by Mahmood Ali saw PIA move into the All-Pakistan Shaheed-i-Millat Liaquat Ali Khan hockey tournament semi-finals after a deserved 3-1 victory over the Port Qasim Authority (PQA) on Saturday.

The national airlines got off to a flying start when Waqas Akbar found the target in the second minute of the game at the Hockey Club of Pakistan.

Although they should have doubled the lead in the seventh minute, they rued missing a penalty stroke by Amir Saleem.

The PQA were, however, stunned when Mahmood slotted home in the fifth minute to give his side a two-goal cushion.

The PQA seemed to be an unimpressive lot yet into the second half as PIA pumped in their third. This time Mahmood came into action in the 44th minute with a lightning opportunist strike that gave PQA goalkeeper Rashid Yaqoob and the defenders no chance.

Led by discarded Pakistan centre-forward Kashif Jawwad, PQA got their consolation goal through promising Owais Khan in the 50th minute.

The PQA might have further reduced the margin five minutes later but Mohammad Atif wasted a perfect opportunity.

On the other end, PIA were unlucky when Mohammad Zubair’s reverse hit from the left went across the goal as Mahmood failed to connect in the 59th minute. Mahmood once again threatened PQA defences but was kept at bay by Rashid three minutes before full-time.

Three-goal blitz by flamboyant Haseem Khan gave the National Bank (NBP) Whites a 5-3 win over a struggling Wapda.

Wapda could have gone ahead in the 10th minute, but Asif Michael wasted a Shabbir Hussain pass from 20 yards.

Having all the ingredients of becoming a star, Haseem rattled Wapda with two quick-fire goals in the 14th and 16th minute.

While the first goal from Haseem came following a goalmouth melee, the second was a classic strike from the right as he stunned the entire defence before slamming an angular hit home.

Asif compensated in the 18th minute when he had his name on to scoresheet with an indirect effort. The bankers took 10 minutes to score their third through Ammar Ishrat who found the cage off a deflection.

Still fighting back, Wapda again reduced the margin in the 27th minute, this time through Moazzam Ali.

An along-the-carpet push by Mohammad Atiq helped the bankers move 4-2 in the 45th minute, while Wapda’s Mohammad Arif netted the third in the 51st minute.

Haseem finished off the game in style when he banged home for his third two minutes before the end.

Shahbaz Ali went on a rampage with four strikes including a hat-trick to give Habib Bank (HBL) a convincing 4-1 win over Karachi.

Shahbaz opened with a seventh-minute strike before Karachi scored their solitary goal in the 14th minute through Mudassir Abbas.

Shahbaz completed his treble, scoring in the 15th, 18th and 22nd minutes.

Irfan Khan and Mohammad Imran struck three goals each in Steel Mills 11-1 thrashing to the KESC.

Irfan’s first minute strike was followed by another two minutes later, while Imran got his first in the fourth minute.

Amir Shahzad made it 4-0 in the 10th minute, Yasin Anwar netted in the 13th minute, while Irfan got his third in the 15th minute. Amir got his double in the 35th minute and Yasin the next minute.

KESC’s only goal came through Iftikhar in the 46th minute, while Imran pumped in twice in the 49th and 65th minutes. Mohammad Naseer completed the tally a minute before the final whistle.

Sunday’s fixtures:

PQA v POF at 3.00pm; NBP Whites v Pakistan Navy at 4.30pm.