BSF, BPCL post sheenless wins

By Our Special Correspondent

MUMBAI, MAY 2. Two goals in two hours and twenty minutes of hockey played at the Mahindra Stadium was a fair indication of the poor quality dished out in the quarterfinals of the sixth Guru Tegh Bahadur all-India tourney on Tuesday.

The winners of the day were Border Security Force (BSF) and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL), Shinic Hereriz converting a penalty stroke for the Jalandhar side and Deepak Sharma scoring the only goal for the Ballard Estate boys.

The second quarterfinal featured local outfit, BPCL and Sikh Regiment Centre, Ramgarh. Many of the star players who figured in the two tournaments in Sydney and Perth recently were absent in the BPCL line-up. Former India captain, Manipandey Somayya had said the other day they were either busy attending a camp or taken leave for personal reasons.

Even then, BPCL has a good spread of former internationals and also a current one in Anuragh Raghuvanshi. Sabu Varkey was once again their linchpin in the front and a dangerous customer. Deepak Sharma also managed to sustain pressure showing speed on the right flank. It was one of his hits from close to the goalline that resulted in a lucky goal in the early minutes of the second half, the ball rolling in off goalkeeper Jaspal Singh's pads.

The Ramgarh side strove hard, the likes of Suman Kumar, Satnan Singh and captain Baljit Singh taking first time shots. But the SRC forwards were baulked, at least, a half a dozen times by BPCL's P.A. Bopanna in the goal. The outcome of the match could have been otherwise had it not been for Bopanna's splendid saves. The BHA Colts side which had tasted quite a few good wins in invitation tournaments recently appeared to be in control, but failed to capitalise on some excellent moves on the right. BSF clinched a semifinal place, Shinic Hereriz beating BHA Colts' Wahid Pathan from the spot.

BPCL's goalkeeper P.A. Bopanna foils SRC's Satnam Singh's (third from left) bid to score in a quarterfinal match of the sixth all- India Guru Tegh Bahadur hockey tourney in Mumbai on Tuesday.

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Section  : Sport
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