Halappa takes IHF Juniors into semifinals

IHF Juniors 1IA 0

PSB 2 (3) BP 2 (2)

By Our Hockey Correspondent

CHENNAI, AUG. 23. Patches of pulsating play compensated well for the rather insipid display in the quarterfinal encounters of the Madras Cricket Club-Murugappa Gold Cup hockey tournament at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium on Wednesday.

The end result in both the games, however, was dramatic, with Bharat Petroleum, despite a spirited fight back after being down by 0-2, succumbing to Punjab and Sind Bank (PSB) in the tie- breaker, and Indian Airlines making the exit thanks to a final minute goal by Arjun Halappa of IHF Juniors.

IHF Juniors will play PSB in the semifinals on Friday.

A bleeding injury to Sabu Varkey in the opening minutes turned out to be a handicap for Bharat Petroleum. Taking advantage of this, PSB struck twice to move into a position of strength. Served well in the mid-field by Ghuman whose neat passes were developed into threatening moves by Parminder Singh and veteran Sanjiv Kumar, PSB pressured the rival defence. Sanjiv might have left his best years behind yet there was a touch of elegance in whatever he did. The adroit passes were bewitching. Openings from these delicate moves signalled disaster for Bharat Petroleum. And when Parminder Singh blasted in a loose ball from the top of the circle goal-keeper Boppanna stood stupefied.

And confirming PSB's dominance at that point, Sanjiv Kumar scored the second goal from near the 25-yard line.

Nothing was going right for Bharat Petroleum till Sabu returned, his head swathed in bandage. Immediately, he made his presence felt. Two quick sallies showed the winds of change in the attacking pattern. Bharat Petroleum had three penalty corner against the none by PSB and enlarged the number to seven before the match ended.

However, the PSB defence headed by Rajinder Singh held on gallantly; goal-keeper Teja Singh saved a Anurag Raghuvanshi shot brilliantly. Deepak Sharma's drive from the top of the circle, however brought Bharat Petroleum back into the fight. The PSB goal had a narrow escape from a shot by Deepak Sharma: Teja Singh was clearly beaten but Rajinder Singh made a goal-line save.

Predictably, PSB strengthened the defensive wall, which however could not prove effective in the face of a strong hit by M.K. Prakash whose blinder of a shot left Teja Singh helpless under the bar. The tie meandered into the extra-time during which Ravi Naikar missed a sitter to take a golden goal. However, in the tie-breaker, Bharat Petroleum, flopped miserably losing the opening two and finally converting only a brace. PSB succeeded in slotting three to get the verdict. Ravi Naikar and Amar Ayyamma scored for Bharat Petroleum, while PSB's Kulwinder, Sharanjit, and Rajbir netted. M.K. Prakash, Raghuvanshi and Jeelani flunked for BP while, Lakvinderpal failed for PSB.

A rather monotonous tie suddenly erupted into a volley of brilliance in the final minute. Arjun Halappa electrified the atmosphere with a spectacular shot that left even a seasoned Ashish Ballal under the bar flabbergasted by the angle and velocity of the ball from the top of the circle.

It was in the fitness of things that Halappa should be the hero of the match though even he missed a few before scoring that all important goal a minute from the hooter.

With the usual strikers Deepak Thakur and Prabhjot Singh not in fine fettle, the Juniors' attack was devoid of any danger. This despite the splendid work in the mid-field by Bimal Lakra and some incisive runs by Tejbir Singh. It was Bimal however who gave that clipping pass across for the decider. A fierce shot by Arjun Halappa was saved by Ballal, who came in for Subbiah in the second half. The ball bounced off in an arc. Bimal trapped the ball near the 25-yard line and essayed a firm centre. The ball rolled to the unmarked Halappa who did what was expected of him.

Clarification

The tournament director, Mohammad Ghouse, clarified that the red card on Tuesday was shown to Davinder Kumar of Air India and not Gavin Ferreira, who was suspended earlier on an yellow card punishment. Davinder has been issued a letter for one-match suspension, against Railways, in the semifinals. Mr. Ghouse explained that an umpire was empowered to issue a red card for grave misdemeanour without recourse to green or yellow cards.

Friday: Semifinals: Indian Railways vs. Air India (1-30 p.m.); IHF Juniors vs. Punjab and Sind Bank (3-45 p.m.).

Teja Singh of PSB acknowledging the crowds' cheers after making a spectacular save in the shoot-out against Bharat Petroleum in the quarterfinals of the MCC- Murugappa Gold Cup hockey tournament in Chennai on Wednesday. Right: Arjun Halappa of IHF Juniors exults after scoring the match-winner against Indian Airlines. Others in the picture are (anti-clockwise from right) Deepak Thakur (IHF Jr), Shakeel Ahmed (IA) and Ignatius Tirkey (IHF Jr)

World Cup: India in Pool B

CHENNAI, AUG. 23. India is placed in Pool B of the 16-team World Cup hockey championship to be played at Kuala Lumpur from February 25 to March 9. Originally scheduled in March and advanced to avoiding a clash with F-1 racing in a four into four format, the FIH then acceded to the request to conduct the premier event in two pools of eight teams each after experimenting with the qualifier on a four into four pattern. Seven teams were declared qualified to the nine automatic qualifiers which included the champion, Holland, and the host, Malaysia.

India was one of the seven qualifiers at the recent championship in Edinburgh along with Argentina, Spain, Poland, Belgium, Japan, New Zealand.

At Kuala Lumpur, India is placed in a comparatively easier pool along with South Korea, Australia, England, Cuba, Malaysia, Poland and Japan.

At the international press luncheon during the Rabobank 9th Women's Champions Trophy at Amstelveen, the FIH announced the following pools: Pool A: Netherlands (1), Pakistan (4), Germany (5), Argentina (8), Spain (9), South Africa (12), Belgium (13) and New Zealand. Pool B: Korea (2), Australia (3), England (6), Cuba (7), Malaysia

(10), Poland (11), India (14) and Japan (15).

Interestingly, four of the five qualifiers-India, Malaysia, South Korea and Japan-have been placed in Pool B, with only Pakistan figuring in Pool A.

Mrs. Els van Breda Vriesman, FIH president, said,``The pools have been composed in accordance with FIH ranking procedures and tournament regulations in order to be transparent and objective to all the teams participating.''

Ruud Verbunt, chairman of the Rabobank Women's Champions Trophy Organising Committee and hon. sec. general of the KNHB was presented with the FIH President's Award at the function for his services to international hockey. Ruud also chaired the organising committee of the highly successful men's and women's Champions Trophies 2000, also held in Amstelveen.

- Our Hockey Correspondent

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