LAHORE, Jan 29 A 62nd-minute goal from Olympian Shakeel Abbasi helped Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) hold Wapda to a 4-4 draw in the final round of 56th National Hockey Championship at the National Hockey Stadium on Thursday.

Wapda took the lead first through Waqas Sharif, who hit the board with a field goal in the third minute. Mohammad Shabbir, also scoring through a field goal, made it 2-0 in the 12th. Abbas Haider reduced the margin 2-1 in the 17th minute, while Majid Khan restored parity (2-2) in the 26th minute.

SSGC got ahead (3-2) for the first time in the 37th minute when Abbas Haider scored his second goal. But Sohail Abbas (41st min) and Asif (45th min) again put Wapda ahead by 4-3 before Shakeel Abbasi fired the equaliser.

Meanwhile, two-goal Mohammad Imran enabled Army to beat Habib Bank Limited (HBL) 3-1 after taking a 1-0 lead at halftime.

Imran converted a penalty-stroke to give Army the 1-0 lead in the 34th minute. Afzal struck in the 40th minute to make it 2-0 while Zubair made it 2-1 by scoring the solitary goal for the bankers. Imran cashed in on a penalty-corner in the 50th minute to seal the fate of the match.

In the last final round match of the day, National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) carved out a 4-2 win against Railways after having led the first half by 2-0.

Mohamamd Atiq (fourth min), Mohammad Taufeeq (25th min), Haseem Khan (40th and 60th min) were the scorers for NBP. Akbar (61st min) and Kashif (68th) were the scorers for Railways.

The three matches played in the tray championship saw Karachi Electric Supply Corporation (KESC), Pakistan Air Force (PAF) and Pakistan Steel Mills as the victors.

KESC defeated NWFP 3-2. Salman (11th min), Zubair (13th min) and Amir Upal (65th min) scored for the winners. Naved (25th min) and Rafiullah (67th min) reduced the margin for NWFP.

PAF defeated Sindh 2-1. Imran Hafeez (51st min) and Saeed Shah (67th min) scored for the winners. Adnan Hamid (53rd min) scored for Sindh.

A solitary goal by Liaquat (47th min) helped Pakistan Steel Mills beat Pakistan Television 1-0.

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