City boys survive scare, enter semis

Tribune News Service 

Chandigarh, June 22 

City boys edged out The Mumbai Hockey Association Ltd 4-3 in a charged quarterfinal encounter to book a berth in the last-four stage of the 7th Senior National Hockey Championship 2017 (Men) ‘A’ Division at Lucknow today.

Hockey Chandigarh came out charging, taking the lead in the 7th minute through Damanjit Singh. Damandeep Singh added another goal to the tally in the 28th minute to help the side go into the half-time leading 2-0. 

In the third quarter, Damandeep scored another goal in the 32nd minute to wrap up, what seemed like a comfortable victory for Chandigarh. The Mumbai boys weren’t to be pushovers though, a final quarter surge, with goals from Amit Goswami (50th minute), Vikram Yadav (56th minute) and Mayur Patil (59th minute) leading the fight-back. 

The goals were punctuated by Damanjit’s second of the game in the 58th minute, which gave Hockey Chandigarh the lead and the confidence to close out and sail into the semifinals.

The city boys will now play Railway Sports Promotion Board (RSPB) on June 24 for a place in the final. 

RSPB beat CAG

RSPB beat Comptroller & Auditor General (CAG) of India 3-1 in the opening quarterfinal of the day.

Both teams started off cautiously, adapting a more defensive approach in the goalless opening quarter. 

The second quarter was heading in a similar direction before Sheshe Gowda scored to break the deadlock in the final minute of the quarter. 

The teams headed into the half-time break with RSPB leading by a single goal. 

Yuvraj Walmiki (36th minute) and Affan Yousuf (37th minute) then scored in quick succession to extend the RSPB lead in the final quarter. 

Gurpratap Singh’s reduced the margin for CAG in the 44th minute, but RSPB stifled their play in the final quarter to hold and take home the victory.

Punjab & Sind Bank advance

Punjab & Sind Bank, meanwhile, beat Air India Sports Promotion Board 3-2 in the shootout to ensure a place in the semifinals. 

In a defensive game, where both teams mostly played out the game in midfield, it took till the second quarter for the opening goal. Mohammad Umar put Air India in the lead in the 24th minute. 

Punjab & Sind Bank, however, found the equaliser within five minutes, Gaganpreet Singh converting a penalty corner to draw them level at half time. 

Neither team was able to break the deadlock in the third and fourth quarters, with some stout defending and lack of clear opportunities. 

In the ensuing shootout, Air India struck the early blows, Almeda Cheeyanna Bopaiah and Raj Kumar Pal converting to give them the lead. Punjab & Sind Bank missed their first two attempts, but then the tide turned. Jaskaran Singh, Vikramjit Singh and Santa Singh fluently converted their strokes as Air India missed theirs in the crucial moments.

Punjab blank UP

In the final quarterfinal of the day, Hockey Punjab blanked Uttar Pradesh 4-0. 

Punjab boys were dominant from the start of the game, establishing control and attacking their opponents incessantly. Baljinder Singh scored the opener in the 28th minute through a penalty corner conversion. 

Goals by Dharamvir Singh (31st minute), Amarpreet Singh (46th minute) and Gurjant Singh (49th minute) consolidated a dominating performance as Hockey Punjab moved into the semifinals.

Hockey Punjab will play Punjab & Sind Bank in the second semifinal. Both semifinals will be telecast live on DD Sports.