LAHORE – Hissam Ali Hyder led Suzuki Swift/Guard Filters to an easy win over Bank Alfalah in the final of the Suzuki Swift Polo Cup here at the Lahore Polo Club ground on Sunday. Newage Cables secured third place beating Hataff in the subsidiary final.
Hissam hit four of the six goals his team scored against four by Bank Alfalah. Mir Shoaib Ahmed and Raja Samiullah shared one goal apiece to complete the winners’ tally. Bank Alfalah, despite having a six goaler Raul Laplactte in their line up and failed to meet the challenge posed by Hissam-led Suzuki Swift, which were also the sponsors of this high goal extravaganza.
Hissam and Laplactte got even in the very first chukker but Shoaib gave Suzuki a goal lead. In the following chukker, Hissam hit a perfect 30 yarder to make the score 2-1. Bankers brought Hamza in place of Waseem Sial but that too did not yield any result and Suzuki remained in charge. Laplactte hit his second goal to mark the start the third chukker but Raja Samiullah leveled it proving that Hissam was the only potent threat.
Hissam extended the lead to 5-2 when the fourth chukker started. He took the ball from his half and after a long chase sent it to the goalpost. Laplactte got a chance to make the most of a penalty and Naveed M Sheikh brought the fourth goal from the losing side with his solo effort but Suzuki were still a goal ahead and Hissam with his fourth goal finished the match 6-4 in his team’s favour. Earlier in the day, Newage Cables halted Hataff by 8-7 margin with major role in the win was played by Bilal Haye Mehta, Zain Khan Khakwani and Shah Shamyl Alam.
Hattaf took charge of the match in the first chukker with three goals through Usman Haye, Vierree Antinori and Hassan Ali Farrukh after Bilal provided lead to Newage Cables. The Newage Cables quartet dominated the whole of second chukker with Adnan Jalil Azam opening the quarter with a long chase goal and the remaining three players produced another four goals. In the process, Zain hit two goals. Vieree Antinori brought Hataff back in contention with a hat-trick.
But Bilal and Shamyl ensured win despite resistance from Omar Asjad Malhi who evened the score again in the fourth chukker in the same fashion Bilal provided lead to the winners. The first match of the day was supervised by Manual Crespo and Gaston Moore while the final was umpired by Raja Arsalan Najeeb and Maj. Nauman Wasif. N Suzuki, Senior General Manager Marketing, Pak Suzuki Company Ltd, was the chief guest of the prize distribution ceremony and presented the trophy to the winners.
