KARACHI: Pakistani horsemen displayed remarkable skill on Saturday to win two Gold medals on third and the final day of Tent Pegging World Cup in South Africa.
Team Pakistan also finished second in the overall championship, winning the World Cup Silver.
Riders from nine different countries participated in six runs on day three of the World Cup showcasing their skills in Ring and Peg, Lemon and Peg and Relays of Sword and Lance.
Pakistan, comprised of Tassawur Abbas, Irfan Mehmood, Wajahatullah Khan and Nasir Abbas, dominated from the start and ended the day on a victorious note.
The first round of the day was Ring and Peg, in which riders were supposed to collect the ring by passing thru the weapon without contact before piercing the weapon into peg and collecting it to carry it away.
Wajahatullah and Tassawur Abbas collected maximum points in this round while Irfan Mehmood secured two points. Nasir Abbas – who was in superb form on day one – missed picking his peg.
Then came Lemon and Peg category in which the riders were required to stab or slice a lemon before targeting the peg. Tassawur Abbas was again the top performer for Pakistan by collecting maximum 36 points.
Wajahat and Irfan got 30 each after missing their pegs following successful slicing of lemon while Nasir Abbas could get 24 points.
In the relays, Pakistan’s Wajahatullah missed his target in lance category, but in their final run, the Sword Relay – each of the rider successfully pierced and carried the target to take it over the line.
As soon as Pakistan completed sword relay, Pakistani supporters and team members chanted slogans of Pakistan Zindabad as it confirmed day’s Gold medal for Pakistan.
Pakistan team got 294 points from the day to win the Gold medal, followed by Saudi Arabia with 289 and India with 276.5 points.
Pakistan’s Tassawur Abbas was the best rider of the day and got individual gold medal on day three for his flawless performance which saw him winning 100 percent available points.
The superb performance on day two helped Pakistan jump from third to second place in overall championship table and win the Silver Medal in Tent Pegging World Cup with 570 points. Saudi Arabia won the trophy with 581.5 points while India finished third with 548.5 points.
Pakistan’s Irfan Mehmood, with 152 points, got overall individual silver medal in the championship.
Faizan Lakhani Faizan Lakhani is Deputy Editor (Sports) at Geo News.