Indian Air Force defeat Central board team 5-1

The hosts Indian Air Force (IAF) recorded a 5-1 win over Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) at the 6th edition of the Marshal of the Air Force Arjan Singh Memorial Hockey Tournament-2025. The tournament commenced today with a grand ceremony at the Raghbir Singh Bhola Hockey Stadium in the 3 BRD Air Force Station here.

Sukhnath Guriya opened the account for the hosts as he sounded the wooden plank in the 22nd minute through a field goal. However, the opener was not enough to start the goal spree for the IAF. The CBDT lads gave their best to find the equaliser, but a poor finish from the strikers made them to keep on trailing. The IAF players doubled the lead in the 44th minute, as Rahul Kumar Rajbhar netted another field goal. Just two minutes later, skipper Sukhdev Singh converted a penalty corner into a goal to make it 3-0, followed by another penalty corner conversation by Cariappa MB in the 50th minute.

Down to four goals, CBDT managed to pull off one through the stick of Nachappa IR in the 59th minute. However, in the very minute, Dilpi Pal netted the final goal for IAF and posted an easy win.

In the second match, Chandigarh XI played brilliantly against Army XI to hold the match for a 3-3 draw. Gaurav drew the first blood for the Army XI as early as during the 2nd minute of the match. And, just three more minutes into the match, the Army boys enjoyed a 2-0 lead with the help of Rajant. However, the Chandigarh lads bounced back perfectly, as Gurmukh Singh scored a brace. He reduced the margin to 1-2 in the 15th minute, followed by another goal in the 28th minute.

The match turned interesting, when skipper Gurjinder Singh put Chandigarh ahead in the 33rd minute by converting a penalty stroke. From leading by two goals to trailing by one, Army boys worked very hard to take over the ball possession from the Chandigarh lads. In the 38th minute, Akshay Dubey equalised the score for Army through a stunning field goal, while Rahul made it 3-2 in the team’s favour during the 44th minute. As the match was coming to the end, Mohit converted a penalty corner for Chandigarh in the 48th minute to ensure pulling equal points.

In the other matches, Indian Railways stunned Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) 4-2 and Rail Coach Factory (RCF) beat Punjab & Sind Bank 2-0 with Sudhershan Singh (32nd and 47th) posting both goals.

Meanwhile, a ceremony was held to celebrate the 106th Birth Anniversary of the Marshal of the Air Force Arjan Singh, Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC). Air Marshal Vijay Kumar Garg, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Maintenance Command, was the chief guest. A total of 12 teams, including an international team from Bangladesh, are competing in the tournament.