PESHAWAR: Dir upset Peshawar Greens 3-0 in the opening match of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Under-17 Inter-district Hockey Championship which got underway here at the Lala Ayub Hockey Stadium on Thursday.

Dir’s Salman opened the account in the eighth minute and doubled the lead in the 27th minute to enjoy 2-0 lead at half time. Zeeshan scored another goal off a penalty corner to make the tally 3-0.

In all, 15 teams are taking part in the ongoing event. The teams have been divided into four groups and one team each would qualify for the semi-finals.

Peshawar Whites, Haripur, Charsadda and Kohat have been drawn into pool A while in Bannu, Swabi and Dera Ismail Khan have been drawn into pool B with pool C comprising Nowshera, Swat, Dir and Peshawar Greens while pool D is made up of Abbottabad, Mansehra and Peshawar Reds.

Acting Director General Sports Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Tariq Mehmood was the chief guest on the occasion who formally inaugurated the Championship. Organising secretary Syed Zahir Shah, joint secretary Haji Nawar Khan and other officials were also present during the opening ceremony.

Zahir said that the aim of the championship is to select 18 players from 33 probables for the forthcoming National U-17 Hockey Championship

The chief guest Tariq Mehmood also lauded efforts of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Hockey Association for holding the event.