PESHAWAR, Feb 6: Peshawar Board retained the Pakistan Inter-board volleyball championship title after defeating Mardan Board in the final at the Mahabat Khan Gymnasium here on Tuesday.

Mardan Board jolted the defending champions by winning the opening set 20-25. Mardan’s Aurangzeb, Shakirullah and Fazal Khan displayed excellent performance.

After losing the first set, the Peshawar Board staged a strong comeback, winning the remaining three sets 25-21, 25-18 and 25-22 consecutively to preserve the title.

Earlier, in the third-position match, Technical Board Peshawar trounced Faisalabad Board 26-24, 23-25, 25-20, 20-25 and 18-16 in a marathon five-set battle. For the Peshawar Technical Board Imtiaz Khan, Faizan Ali, Nisar Khan played outstandingly while for the Faisalabad Board Mohammad Ramzan, Akhtar and Javed Ahmed fared nicely. —APP