Mari Petroleum Azadi Hockey Cup: National Bank and WAPDA teams will compete in the final, defeating Navy and PAF in the semi-finals, the final will be played tomorrow, August 15 at 4 pm.
The final of Mari Petroleum Azadi Hockey Cup 2021 under the auspices of Mari Petroleum Sports Department will be played tomorrow, August 15 at 4:00 pm at Mari Hockey Stadium, Ayub Park, Rawalpindi under the auspices of Army Heritage Foundation. In the semi-finals played yesterday, Pakistan WAPDA and National Bank teams defeated their rivals and made it to the final.
The first semi-final was played between Pakistan WAPDA and Pakistan Air Force, in which Pakistan WAPDA won 0-5 in a one-sided contest. Pakistan WAPDA got their grip on the game from the very beginning of the match and beat the Air Force team with their experience. The number one team in the Pakistan Hockey Federation rankings advanced to the final by defeating the No. 6 ranked team Air Force by a big margin. Aleem Usman scored two goals, Ali Aziz, Mubashir Ali and Ijaz Ahmed scored one goal each. Aleem Usman of WAPDA was declared Man of the Match and the Man of the Match award was given by special guest Lieutenant General Masood Aslam. Secretary-General PHF Asif Bajwa presented a souvenir to the distinguished guest. The match was supervised by umpires Sohail Janjua and Sabteen Raza.
The second semi-final was played between Pakistan Navy and National Bank, which ended in a 1-1 draw. In the penalty shootouts, National Bank defeated Neon 1-3 to reach the final. National Bank’s overall score was 2-4. Muhammad Sabir scored a goal for the Navy in the 32nd minute of the match while Moin Shakeel scored a goal for the National Bank in the 47th minute of the match to end the Navy’s lead. In the penalty shootout phase, Arsalan Qadir, Shaun Irshad and Mohammad Dilbar scored for National Bank while captain Abu Bakar and Ahmed Nadeem failed to score. The Navy hockey team failed to perform in the penalty shootout stage and only Muhammad Sabir of Navy was able to score a goal while Issa Khan, Hammad Ali, Mohsin Sabir and Khalid Ali missed the opportunity of penalty shootout and could not score a goal. But the Navy team could not get the honour of playing in the final. The match was supervised by umpires Yasir Khurshid and Waqas Butt.
The special guest of this match was former manager National Hockey Team Col. Mohsin Ali Khan. The distinguished guest was introduced to the players and team officials. Former Secretary-General Pakistan Hockey Federation Olympian Rana Mujahid Ali Khan and Shuja Iqbal Raja were also present on the occasion. Secretary-General of Pakistan Hockey Federation Olympian Asif Bajwa, Chairman National Hockey Selection Committee Olympian Manzoor Junior, Member Selection Committee Olympian Khalid Hameed, Treasurer of Pakistan Hockey Federation Muhammad Akhlaq Usmani, Former Head Coach National Team Muhammad Saeed Khan, including a large number of spectators, were also present.
The final of Mari Petroleum Azadi Hockey Cup will be played on August 15 at 4 pm. Federal Minister for Sports Inter-Provincial Coordination Dr. Fehmida Mirza will be the special guest of the final of the event. Distinguished Guests will attend the event at 5:00 PM. President Pakistan Hockey Federation Brigadier Khalid Sajjad Khokhar, Secretary-General PHF Olympian Asif Bajwa and members of the National Hockey Selection Committee will also be present on the occasion.
