The women hockey teams of Punjab (C) and Wapda stormed into the final of First Chief Minister Punjab 5-a-Side National Women Hockey Championship after winning their thrilling semifinals at National Hockey Stadium on Tuesday.
Wapda edged out Railways by 2-1 in the first semifinal while Punjab (C) thrashed strong Army team by 4-1 in the second semifinal clash.
The final match of First Chief Minister Punjab 5-a-Side National Women Hockey Championship will be played between Punjab (C) and Wapda women hockey teams at 7.00pm on Wednesday at National Hockey Stadium whereas Railways and Army teams will clash in 3rd/4th position match at 6.00pm at the same venue.
Director General Sports Punjab Adnan Arshad Aulakh and his wife Zakia Adnan were the guests of honour at the semifinals. Director Admin Javed Chohan, Director Sports Hafeez Bhatti, PHF Women Hockey Wing General Manager Ms Tanzeela Amir Cheema, head coach of national hockey team Olympian Kh Junaid, Deputy Director Rauf Bajwa, Deputy Director Chand Perveen and a large number of hockey fans were also present on this occasion.
Punjab Minister for Sports and Youth Affairs Rai Taimoor Khan Bhatti and Director General Sports Punjab Adnan Arshad Aulakh congratulated Punjab (C) and Wapda women hockey teams on reaching in final of First Chief Minister Punjab 5-a-Side National Women Hockey Championship.
Director General Sports Punjab Adnan Arshad Aulakh announced a cash prize of Rs 50,000 for Punjab Colours team for winning semifinal against a strong team. PHF Women Hockey Wing General Manager Ms Tanzeela Amir Cheema also announced a cash prize of Rs 40,000 for Punjab Colours team and Rs 10,000 for captain of Punjab (C) team.
While talking to media Director General Sports Punjab Adnan Arshad Aulakh appreciated the fighting game of all semifinalist teams. “It is a new and speedy format of hockey just like T20 format in cricket. Players need to show better stamina and playing techniques in this format”.
Director General Sports Punjab Adnan Arshad Aulakh said that Sports Board Punjab has organised the First Chief Minister Punjab 5-a-Side National Women Hockey Championship for the preparation of inaugural FIH Hockey 5s World Cup scheduled to be staged in Oman’s capital city, Muscat in 2024.
Director General Sports Punjab Adnan Arshad Aulakh said it’s Sports Board Punjab’s initiative to organise 5-a-Side hockey at such a big level with the collaboration of Pakistan Hockey Federation. “We are quite confident to formulate a strong women hockey team for the qualifiers of FIH Hockey 5s World Cup,” he added.
In the first semifinal, Wapda women hockey team defeated Railways by a narrow margin of 2-1. Both the teams played aggressive hockey in the initial stages of the match. Wapda scored first goal in 7th minute through Hamra Latif’s field effort. However, Railways bounced back in the very next minute when Sarika Sarwar converted a penalty stroke to level the score.
Wapda’s Nida Asghar scored the decisive goal through her beautiful field move in the 9th minute of the match. Both the teams tried their best to score more goals in the second half but in vain.
The second semifinal was played between Punjab Colours and Army at the same venue. Punjab (C) dominated the proceedings right from the beginning against strong Army team and took 2-0 lead at the half time. Sidra Hakim struck two beautiful goals while Mahak Rasheed and Mariam Hussain contributed one goal each in their team’s 4-1 victory. Army’s Asma scored the only goal for her team through her field move in the 19th minute.