Punjab warms up to challenges ahead

By Kamesh Srinivasan

Punjab 2 -- Chandigarh 0

Uttar Pradesh 2 -- Bengal 0

Indian Airlines 8 -- J&K 0

BSF 3 -- Services 1

JAMMU, DEC. 11. Good teams make a steady start. They do not exert more than what is required, especially in the opener. Punjab warmed up for the challenges ahead with a 2-0 victory over Chandigarh in a Group `III' match of the National hockey championship at the K.K. Hakhu Stadium here on Monday.

A drag flick by Jugraj Singh converted his team's second penalty corner in the 25th minute of the first half for the first goal. Then a relaxed push when unmarked right in front of the goal by Gurmeet Singh, following a sharp backpass from Saurabh Bishnoi 12 minutes into the second half, fetched the second goal.

Punjab forced only three penalty corners, and was overall quite happy to get used to the conditions. There was a bit of a drama when Punjab skipper Baljit Singh Dhillon and Jaswant Rai of Chadigarh were caught in a scuffle, and the two had to cool themselves out on yellow cards.

Chandigarh played well, but could not make much of the six penalty corners that it forced. Punjab will meet Uttar Pradesh in the second match of the group on Tuesday, and that encounter may be decisive, as Uttar Pradesh also recorded a 2-0 triumph over Bengal.

After a barren first half in which the two teams gauged each other, Uttar Pradesh shot ahead in the 10th minute of the second half with a spectacular strike by Anwar Khan. The left-winger dribbled his way up, took his time and found the far corner with a reverse hit.

It was a similar effort by Amarjit in scoring the second goal in the 19th minute of the second half. The centre- forward moved smoothly, dodged the goalkeeper with ease, and unleashed a full- blooded shot into the unguarded goal.

Bengal forced as many as 11 penalty corners, but did not have the wherewithal to strike even once. Credit should also go to the Uttar Pradesh goalkeeper Harjeet Singh, who was solid in negotiating the attacks aimed at him. In fact, there were three shots taken in succession by Manoj Kujur, Niral Bhengra and Gurmit Singh off Bengal's third penalty corner, but Harjeet stopped all of them with confidence.

Defending champion Indian Airlines tried a few variations up front on its way to a 8-0 triumph over the host, which entertained the local supporters by restricting the famed rival to two goals in the first half.

Dileep Tirkey converted two penalty corners, while Sameer Dad accounted for two goals with his fine hits. Virender Singh made a smart deflection of a hit from Ravinder Singh and scored another goal with a crisp hit through the advancing J&K goalkeeper K.N. Subbaiah. Rajnish Mishra converted a penalty corner, and the other goal was accounted by Brojen Singh.

Indian Airlines tried fullback Lazarus Barla as an inside-left in the first half, but the talented player proved a misfit up front, as he could hardly combine either with Brojen Singh on the left wing or the centreforward Altaf-ur Rehman.

On resumption, the Airlines rested right-winger Mukesh Kumar for a long spell and brought Ravinder Singh in his place, while Brojen took the centreforward position briefly before taking his more comfortable inside-left role.

With Shakeel Ahmed, Prabodh Tirkey and Sanjay Bisht in the halfline, apart from Dilip Tirkey and Rajnish Mishra as fullbacks, the Airlines had a strong defence. The host tried hard but could not beat goalkeeper Ashish Ballal, despite forcing four penalty corners. There was some hope pinned on left-hander Mandeep Singh, the left-winger who had scored five of the 11 goals in the preliminary league for the host, but Airlines was far too superior to concede a goal this day.

Border Security Force (BSF) caused a flutter by downing Services 3-1 after leading 1-0 at the interval. Shinu Herenz was the hero for BSF as he deflected home a shot by Amrit Lakra and smashed into the board off the team's fourth penalty corner in the second minute of the second half. Marianus Lakra completed the tally by pushing into the target in a melee midway through the second half.

Services pulled one back a minute later, with Kamal Horo reacting with alacrity, but the BSF goalkeeper Jagjit Singh proved a tough nut to crack otherwise, as he blocked or deflected away as many as six sharp hits.

It was a disappointing start for Services, which had qualified in style from the zonal league, with an all-win record from group `H'.

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