Punjab Police, Army XI open Surjit Hockey Tournament with convincing wins

Punjab Police Jalandhar team, equipped with ten Olympian players, made a strong start in the 42nd Indian Oil Servo Surjit Hockey Tournament by defeating Punjab & Sind Bank Delhi by a margin of 5-0, earning three points. In the second match, Army XI overcame CRPF Delhi 2-1 to secure three points.

The tournament, held at the Olympian Surjit Hockey Stadium, was inaugurated by Rajya Sabha member Ashok Mittal. Hockey India vice-president, Hockey Punjab president Nitin Kohli and Indian Oil general manager Yashpal Kant were also present. On this occasion, children of IVY World School performed a gymnastics display.

The opening match in Pool B featured Punjab Police, with Olympian players, against Punjab & Sind Bank Delhi. In the first quarter, the bank mounted a strong defence. In the 20th minute of the second quarter, Punjab Police captain Olympian Harmanpreet Singh scored from a penalty corner to make it 1-0. In the 26th minute, he converted another penalty corner to extend the lead to 2-0. In the 31st minute, Harmanpreet scored a penalty stroke, completing the tournament’s first hat-trick. In the 35th minute of the second half, Olympian Mandeep Singh netted a field goal to make it 4-0, and in the 40th minute, Olympian Akashdeep Singh scored another field goal, securing a 5-0 victory.

In Pool D, Army XI defeated CRPF Delhi 2-1 after a closely contested match. In the 10th minute, Shamsher gave CRPF the lead, 1-0. Army’s Daryachil Yadav equalised in the 30th minute and in the 55th minute, Army XI’s Atish Dodri scored from a penalty corner to seal the win.

Present at today’s matches were Jalandhar Deputy Commissioner Himashu Agarwal, Olympian Harpreet Singh Mander, Lakhwinder Pal Singh Khaira, Iqbal Singh Sandhu, Surinder Singh Bhapa, Gurwinder Singh Gullu, Ram Pratap, Professor Kirpal Singh Matharu, LR Nayyar, Baljit Singh (elder brother of Olympian Surjit Singh), Harinder Sangha, Gurinder Sangha, Ranbir Tut, Udita (Olympian Mandeep Singh’s wife), Amandeep Kaur, Narinder Pal Singh Judge, Natha Singh Gakhal, Olympian Mukhbain Singh, Baljit Singh Chandi, Rajwinder Thiara, Mangal Singh Bassi, Jatinder Pal Singh (Ramtax Company), Gaurav Mahajan, and Kulwinder Singh Thiara.

Matches on 24 October: RCF Kapurthala vs Indian Navy – 4.30 pm; CAG New Delhi vs BSF Jalandhar – 5.45 pm.