KARACHI: Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) will be seeking a fourth successive National Challenge Cup title when the country’s premier club competition kicks off in Bahawalpur on May 15.

The Pakistan Premier Football League (PPFL) champions are also eyeing a second successive league and cup double as they look to reassert their total dominance in the domestic game.

Standing in their way are Karachi Electric Supply Company (KESC), the team who KRL beat in the final en route to Challenge Cup glory last year. They also finished as runners-up to KRL in the PPFL last season.

“Winning the Challenge Cup will hopefully help us avenge those defeats,” KESC’s head of Sports Marketing Zabe Khan said at the end of the PPFL season.

“We’ve been really close to them over the last year,” he added referring to their penalty shootout loss to KRL in the Challenge Cup final.

While a Challenge Cup triumph will offer KESC a chance to redeem themselves, National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) coach Nasir Ismail is hoping his side show that they are worthy competitors to the top-two.

“Last season [in the PPFL], we tried to develop a squad which was a mix of youth and experience,” he told Dawn recently. “It has to a certain extent progressed and our youthful side even held KRL to a draw so hopefully we can close the gap on them.”

Before KRL started their dominance of the domestic game, Wapda were the country’s top dogs.

And after a rather mediocre PPFL season by their standards, they would be eyeing a good performance in the Challenge Cup to regain their lost status.

“We’re in a transitional phase,” said Wapda assistant coach Tanveer Ahmed. “But hopefully we’ll be able to boost our squad in time for the Challenge Cup.”

But KRL are in no mood to relinquish their crown.

“We’ll go as favourites and everyone will be looking to beat us but we believe we have strength in depth to be able to hold off the challenge of the other teams,” KRL head coach Tariq Lutfi told Dawn on Thursday.

“It will be a good atmosphere in Bahawalpur and hopefully the stadium will fill up.”

KRL’s star winger Mohammad Adil, meanwhile, is looking forward to winning the tournament in front of his home crowd.

“The tournament is coming to my city,” he said. “And if we win it, it will be extra-special for me as I’ll be able to celebrate it with my friends and family.”

Matches of the 16-team tournament will be held under flood-lights at the Dring Football Stadium.

The competing teams, namely KRL, KESC, NBP, Wapda, Pakistan Army, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), Habib Bank Limited (HBL), Pak-Afghan Cleaning Agency (PACA), Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC), National U-18 team, Bahawalpur district team, Higher Education Commission (HEC), Bhatti United FC, Polica and Ashraf Sugar Mills will be later drawn into four groups with the top two advanvcing into the quarter-finals.