Sports Bulletin Report
LAHORE:-Thailand defeated Pakistan 20-15 in the first match of the Asia Rugby Division-II Championship 2022 at Punjab Stadium, Lahore Sunday night.
Despite the defeat in the first match, Pakistan still have bright chances to qualify for Division-I, if they defeat Thailand in the second match, which will be played on June 1 at the Punjab Stadium, Lahore. At the moment Thailand's team is up by 5 points so the Pakistan need to earn a victory with a margin.
Thailand scored penalties in the first half, followed by a try by the Pakistan team, which had a 7-to-6 edge at the halftime. Pakistan placed a lot of pressure on the Thailand team in the second half but missed some crucial chances of converting tries by Pakistani forwards. Luc Michel, Etienne Legrand, Sarut Janda, and Thanapong Punjpang scored tries for Thailand, while Ali Shahid and Khalid Hussain Bhatti scored tries for Pakistan.
President Pakistan Rugby Union Arif Saeed, Secretary Salman Shaikh, Asia Rugby Chief Executive Johny Stavrinou, Media Manager Khurram Haroon, Tournament Director Ghaith Jalajel, Aitchison College Principal Michael Thomson, DG Sports Board Javed Chohan, Director Sports Board Hafeez Bhatti, and a large number of former rugby players were all present during the match.
Meanwhile, the Thailand team had a very busy day in Lahore the next day of the first match. They started the day with a visit to the Historic Lahore Fort. According to the players, they have a great time in the fort. "I took several photos with the locals," a Thai player said. The team then went to a local shopping mall for some shopping, where they met with the general public and took some photos before returning to the hotel in the evening.
