KARACHI: Pakistan on Saturday won two gold medals on the third and final day of the Tent Pegging World Cup held 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 3 of the World Cup showcasing their skills in Ring and Peg, Lemon and Peg and Relays of Sword and Lance.
Pakistan team, comprising 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 through the weapon without contact before piercing the weapon into a peg and collecting it to carry it away.
Wajahatullah and Tassawur Abbas collected maximum points in this round while Irfan Mehmood bagged 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 a maximum 36 points.
Wajahat and Irfan got 30 each after missing their pegs following the 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 riders successfully pierced and carried the target to take it over the line. As soon, as Pakistan completed the 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 an individual gold medal on day three for his flawless performance which saw him winning 100% of available points. The superb performance on day two helped Pakistan jump from third to second place in the overall championship table and win the Silver Medal in the 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 the overall individual silver medal in the championship.