LAHORE, April 20: Four goals by Malik Asif Yar Tiwana and two by Usman Hayee brought SHV Energy back from the jaws of defeat to beat Artex International 6- 4 1/2, in the final of the Guard Rice polo tournament at the Lahore Polo Club Ground on Sunday.
SHV got off to a fine start leading 2- 1/2 when Asif scored back to back goals in the first chukker overcoming Artex’s 1/2 goal handicap.
Asif first converted a 30 yard penalty hit and then a 60 yarder.
The winners surged ahead 4-1 1/2 by adding two more goals in the second chukker, and conceding one.
Usman scored first for SHV. Capt Malik who scored twice for the losers struck his first, crowning a field attempt to reduce the margin. But Asif banged home his third goal to again extend the lead.
From the third chukker, Artex tried to recover and once came ahead by a slender half goal 4 1/2-4.
Azam Hayat Noon scored the solitary goal of the third chukker to narrow the margin.
In the fourth chukker, Feroz Gulzar converted a spot penalty near the goalpost to make it 3 1/2-4. Minutes later, Capt. Malik added his second goal with a long chase to make it 4 1/2-4. With five minutes play remaining, SHV fought back aggressively scoring two goals in quick succession. Usman scored his second goal first while Asif slammed his fourth goal to seal the fate of the match.
Earlier, Tri Star beat Master Paints 7-5 to get the third spot.
Three goals each by Ahmad Nawaz Tiwana and Dr I A Khan played key role for Tri Star’s win. Raja Sattar chipped in a goal.
For Masters, Sufi Amir was the chief scorer with three. Sufi Haris and Ashfaq contributed a goal each.