LAHORE:Diamond Paints/Sheikhoo Steel qualified for the semifinals of the Corps Commander Polo Cup, sponsored by Diamond Paints, by defeating Platinum Homes 4-3 on penalty shots, here at the Jinnah Polo Fields.
On Friday, Diamond Paints/Sheikhoo Steel will take on Remington Pharma and FG/Din Polo will vie against Master Paints Black in the semifinals. To decide the fourth semifinalist team, a penalty shootout was conducted between Diamond Paints/Sheikhoo Steel and Platinum Homes, as both the teams had equal points on the points table.
Nicolas Antinori from Diamond Paints/Sheikhoo Steel scored four out of five 60-yard penalties while Amir Raza Behbodi from Platinum Homes could convert three penalties, thus the Diamond Paints/Sheikhoo Steel emerged as winners of the crucial match and qualified for the semifinals.
On the other hand, two matches were played for booking berths in the subsidiary final. In the first match, Master Paints/Newage Cables defeated Guard Group by 11-8. Juan Cruz Greguol top-scored with ten goals while Farooq Amin Sufi slammed in the eleventh one for the winning team. Taimur Ali Malik pumped in five goals while Saqib Khan Khakwani hammered a hat-trick for Guard Group.
In the second match, Remounts beat Platinum Homes by 7-3½. For Remounts, Raja Temur Nadeem fired in four fabulous goals while Sawar Naeem, Imran Shahid and Maj Haseeb Minhas (R) converted one goal apiece. All three goals for Platinum Homes were thrashed in by Amirreza Behboudi.