Punjab Police Jalandhar, Army XI make it to semis

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, October 16

Holders Army XI Mumbai and Indian Oil Mumbai entered semifinals of the 36th Indian Oil Servo Surjit Hockey Tournament, being organised at Olympian Surjit Hockey Stadium, on Wednesday.

A match played between the two teams ended in 1-1 draw. In the second match in Pool B, Punjab Police Jalandhar beat Air India Mumbai 4-2 to reserve a berth in the semifinals with five points in their account. In Pool A, Indian Oil Mumbai and Army XI displayed a controlled hockey. In the 17th minute, Indian Oil got lead when their Sunil Yadav converted a penalty corner (1-0). In the 28th minute, equaliser came from the stick of Sukhdeep Singh of Army XI. At half time, both teams were at 1-1.

With the draw, both teams get one point each. They bagged five points from three outings. Army XI, in their league matches, beat ONGC 3-0. Their match with Indian Navy ended in 1-1 draw. Whereas Indian Oil bagged five points from three outings, they beat Indian Navy 3-2 and held ONGC to 1-1 draw. Army XI topped the pool with better goal difference and Indian Oil was on second place in pool A.

In Pool B, Punjab Police started well against Air India. In the fourth minute of the play, Punjab Police took lead when Pawandeep Singh scored from the top of the striking circle. In the 26th minute, Air India equalised. The scorer was Rajat Minj, who scored from the left flank. At half time, both teams were at 1-1. In the 35th minute and 37th minute, Punjab Police struck twice. Karanbir Singh and olympian Gurbaj Singh took Punjab Police 3-1 up. In the 51st minute, Pawandeep Singh scored another goal for Punjab Police. In the 56th minute, Air India’s Vinaya VS reduced the margin by 1.

With the win, Punjab Police bagged five points from three outings. They had held both Punjab & Sind Bank and Indian Railways to 1-1 draw.