Wapda retain National Women Hockey title

Golden goal by Azra Nasir in the extra time helped Wapda retain the title after beating spirited Railways 2-1.—File photo by APP
LAHORE: Golden goal by Azra Nasir in the extra time helped Wapda retain the title after beating spirited Railways 2-1 in the 25th National Women Hockey Championship final at the National Hockey Stadium on Friday.Railways secured the second position and Faisalabad finished third. The score was 1-1 at the end of regulation time. Neelma Hussain broke the ice in the 19th minute to give the winners a 1-0 lead. The second half saw seasoned player Ayesha Bashir restoring the parity for Railways, who also happened to be Wapda’s rivals in last year’s final. She converted a short-corner off an indirect try in the 49th minute.

An extra time of 15 minutes was allowed as no team could tick the scoreboard further before the final whistle.

Wapda took just four minutes to score the golden goal through Azra, who capitalized on a short-corner, to seal the fate of the final.

Earlier, in the third position match, Faisalabad outplayed Karachi 5-0. The score at halftime was 4-0. Irum Shahzadi scored two while Maryam, Anees and Maria contributed one goal each.

Hina Kanwal (Railways) was declared player of the tournament and Saman Rasheed (Wapda) earned the award of best goalkeeper. Balochistan had to be content with the Fair Play Trophy.

President Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) Qasim Zia, Secretary Asif Bajwa and President PHF Women’s Wing Barrister Shahida Jamil distributed the trophies and medals to the players and officials at the closing ceremony.LINK