KARACHI, April 3 Penalty-corner specialist Sohail Abbas made a welcome comeback on the domestic front when his double strike paved the way for Wapda's impressive 3-1 victory over Army in the opening match of the 57th NBP National Hockey Championship at the Hockey Club of Pakistan (HCP) Stadium on Saturday.

The world record holder, who had a disappointing World Cup in New Delhi last month, converted a penalty-corner in the first half and scored off a penalty stroke in the second session to give his team a winning start in the 10-team competition.

The event is being played on a new round robin format with each team playing nine league matches and the one on the top with the most points emerging as the winner.

Enjoying the services of Olympians Imran Khan, Waseem Ahmed, Rehan Butt, Waqas Sharif, the star-studded Wapda recovered from a 1-1 score line to outplay the soldiers in the last 15 minutes of the match.

After a sluggish start, Sohail Abbas put his team in front with a powerful scoop in the 27th minute and they kept their 1-0 lead till interval.

However, three minutes into the second session centre-forward Kashif restored parity through field effort.

Wapda was at their brilliant best and banged in two more goals to seize full three points.

Nibble-footed Waqas Sharif put his team in front in the 60th minute and Sohail put the match beyond Army's reach by swiftly converting a penalty stroke five minutes later.

In the other match, defending champion Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) trounced Navy 5-1. The airline blasted four goals within four minutes to make it a one-sided affair.

Forwards Inayatullah, Mahmood Ali, Mohammad Zubair, Mohammad Irfan and Kashif Ali scored one goal apiece for PIA while Mohammad Imran got Navy their consolation goal.

Inayatullah slammed the opener in the second minute of the match. Navy levelled the terms after a great struggle when Mohammad Imran scored via penalty stroke five minutes before the break.

PIA's forwards went on a rampage midway through the second half as they tore apart Navy's defence line, striking four goals one after the other.

The talented Mahmood Ali gave his team a 2-1 lead in the 49th minute and one minute later Olympian Mohammad Zubair put his team in front by making it 3-1 through solo field effort. Mohammad Irfan scored the fourth goal in the 51st minute. Another Pakistan player fullback Kashif Ali completed the tally by converting a penalty-corner in the 53rd minute.

The day's final encounter between National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) and Pakistan Air Force (PAF) saw forward Akhtar Ali and fullback Mohammad Atiq slamming a pair of goals for the bankers as they routed PAF 7-0.

NBP, who finished as the runners-up in the last championship dominated the match from start to finish.

Fullback Mohammad Atiq gave his team a solid start by converting back-to-back penalty-corners in the 12th and 17th minute and Naeem Akhtar netted the ball in the 31st minute to give NBP a 3-0 lead at the breather.

Soon after resumption of play Olympian Akhtar Ali slammed two field goals in the 36th and 44th minutes as NBP forged 5-0 ahead.

Centre-forward Haseem Khan completed NBP's half a dozen goals with field effort in the 54th minute and Mohammad Tauseeq scored the final goal off a penalty-corner in the 56th minute.

Sunday's fixtures HBL v Port Qasim (2.00pm); Navy v Wapda (3.30pm); SSGC v KESC (5.00pm). -APP