KARACHI, Jan 28: Karachi Whites reached the National Hockey Championship regional qualifying round semi-finals with an imposing 9-0 victory over Mirpurkhas in an ill-tempered clash at the Hockey Club of Pakistan on Monday.

In a second incident of rowdy behaviour in the tournament, Mirpurkhas players protested over a penalty corner decision by umpire Fareed awarded to Karachi Whites in the 20th minute.

The players argued against the decision and Ali Adnan was finally yellow-carded by the umpire for using foul language. The game finally resumed after a six-minute break after the intervention of the technical and team officials.

Two-goal Rizwan opened the scoring in the eighth minute followed by a second goal which came through Zubair Ahmad in the 15th minute.

Uzair found the target in the 27th minute as the local outfit pumped in two more before the break.

This time Junaid Iqbal slammed home in the 32nd minute only to see his team-mate Asif Aslam slotting home a minute later to make it 5-0.

Coming back with an unassailable lead, the hosts didn’t stop their onslaught and netted their sixth through Ebad who scored off a penalty corner in the 42nd minute.

Rizwan came into action for the second time six minute later and Asif got his double in the 53rd minute. Salman Khan wrapped up the proceeding with a 65th-minute strike.

Kalat got the better of Loralai 7-2.

The winners got off to a perfect start with a Murad Ali goal in the third minute. They added two more, first through Mohammad Nadeem in the eighth minute and then via Abdul Lateef in the 15th minute.

After conceding three goals within a span of 15 minutes, Loralai recovered to reduce the margin in the 32nd minute when Abdul Wahab found the net. Wahab struck for his second to make it 3-2 in the 44th minute.

But that proved mere consolation, as Kalat extending the lead 4-2 with a Farhan Qayyum strike in the 58th minute before Sattar Khan converted a short corner in the 65th minute.

To finish off the job, Naseebullah slammed home just three minutes later and Murad was on target barely 60 second later.

In a lopsided match, Larkana emerged 21-0 winners against hapless Sukkur thanks to five-goal Ashiq Ali.

Ashiq was the pick of his side as he slammed home in the ninth, 22nd, 32nd, 46th and 54th minutes while Majid Ali and Asif Michael and Zahid Ali hammered in four times each.

Taufeeq found the cage thrice in the 57th, 62nd and 69th minute, while Gulzar Ali also chipped in with a goal in the 38th minute.

Tuesday’s fixtures:

Hyderabad v Loralai at 9.30am; Zhob v Makran at 11.15am; Karachi Colours v Sibi at 2.0pm; Larkana v Quetta at 3.30pm.

Opinion

Editorial

A hasty retreat
Updated 28 Nov, 2024

A hasty retreat

Govt should not extend its campaign of violence against PTI and its leaders, thinking it now has the upper hand. Enough is enough.
Lebanon truce
28 Nov, 2024

Lebanon truce

WILL it hold? That is the question many in the Middle East and beyond will be asking after a 60-day ceasefire ...
MDR anomaly removed
28 Nov, 2024

MDR anomaly removed

THE State Bank’s decision to remove its minimum deposit rate requirement for conventional banks on deposits from...
Islamabad march
Updated 27 Nov, 2024

Islamabad march

WITH emotions running high, chaos closes in. As these words were being written, rumours and speculation were all...
Policing the internet
27 Nov, 2024

Policing the internet

IT is chilling to witness how Pakistan — a nation that embraced the freedoms of modern democracy, and the tech ...
Correcting sports priorities
27 Nov, 2024

Correcting sports priorities

IT has been a lingering battle that has cast a shadow over sports in Pakistan: who are the national sports...