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Hockey
By Kirti Patil
JALANDHAR, MARCH 24. Railways remained the undisputed champion as it crushed Punjab 6-0 to win the 51st edition of the National women's hockey championship, at the Olympian Surjit Stadium here in Burlton Park on Sunday. Railways and Punjab met in the summit clash for the 10th time and the last time the two had met in the 1994-95 final at Chandigarh. Today, a bemused Punjab watched with awe as Railways dominated the play through its fast-paced attack, solid defence and its now-familiar art of ball possession. It was the 18th title for Railways in 22 years, with the first one coming in 1980 — the year when it became eligible to play in the championship. During this period, for various reasons, the championship was not held in 1989, 1996, 1998 and 2001. In the play-off for the third place, the much-touted Haryana survived a scare against Mumbai before winning 3-2. Mumbai, which finished third in the 2000 Jabalpur Nationals, surprised one and all by taking 2-0 lead by the half-time. The tables were turned, on changing the ends, as Haryana redeemed some pride. Any prospect of a close final vanished and the sparse crowd learnt very early that Punjab was no match for Railways. Centre-forward Jyoti Sunita Kullu and right-out Surinder Kaur wrecked havoc with the Punjab defence with an amazingly fast-paced game. Pritam Rani Siwach and Mamta Kharab made the first move from the left flank and earned a penalty corner. Consequently, the umpire had no hesitation in awarding a penalty stroke when Renu Bala wrongly tackled Surinder just at the goalmouth. Surinder made no mistake and Railways were ahead. With every match, captain Manjinder Kaur has shown improvement in her role as a playmaker. The prospect of regaining a place in the Indian team has also boosted her morale manifold. On Sunday, Manjinder played incredibly well. She fed long and accurate passes to Jyoti Sunita Kullu and Pritam Rani Siwach as Railways' unrelenting attacks continued. For Punjab, the return of Roohi Dhillon was a welcome development. Though the Punjab team management produced a `No Objection Certificate' issued by Chandigarh, of which Roohi was a resident, her inclusion in the team hung in balance. The Tournament Director, Ms. Sudarshan Pathak, was unaware of the procedure to be followed in this case and Roohi finally took the ground. Railways, however, had no qualms about the composition of the Punjab team as it went about achieving its goal in a professional fashion. In the 20th minute, Manjinder gave a through pass to Jyoti, who dodged past two defenders to score. The third goal was equally impressive. Centre-half Sita Gussain cleared the ball in the right flank for Manjinder, who gave a cross to Jyoti. With a fine scoop, Jyoti enhanced the tally. After the breather, fleet-footed Sanggai Chanu replaced Mamta as Railways flaunted its striking power. On the other hand, Railways rested an equally good Pakpi Devi. It was now the turn of hard-working Manjinder to get a goal against her name. On its sixth penalty corner, Railways went 4-0 up when Manjinder scored off an indirect pass. Another blow was in the offing for Punjab. Skipper Rajwant Kaur got involved in a spat with the umpire when a penalty stroke was awarded, in the 53rd minute, after Rajwant had stopped the shot with her foot. Jyoti scored her third goal to become the top scorer of the tournament. She was very consistent — scoring nine goals in five matches. Haryana's Balwinder Kaur scored eight, six of which came in the match against Madhya Pradesh. Seasoned Suraj Lata Devi, playing as a mid-fielder, got her due in the 55th minute and completed the tally for Railways. As the curtains came down on the Nationals, there were a few lacunae that the Indian Women's Hockey Federation (IWHF) failed to explain. First, in all the 19 matches played in the tournament, umpires allowed a break of 20 minutes at the half-time. It was hard to understand why the players were allowed such a long rest as against usual 10 minutes. Secondly, the prestigious Lady Ratan Tata Trophy was missing. Railways was handed a new trophy crafted by the local organisers. When asked, the Railway coach, Mr. Ashok Dewan, said that it had deposited the trophy well in time with the IWHF, once the championship was announced. The Tournament Director, Ms. Pathak, was oblivious of the whereabouts of the trophy. The results: Final: Railways 6 (Jyoti Sunita Kullu 3, Surinder Kaur, Manjinder Kaur, Suraj Lata Devi) bt Punjab 0. Third place: Haryana 3 (Sandeep Kaur 2, Jasjeet Kaur) bt Mumbai 2 (Poonam Surin, Geeta B. M.). Top goal scorers: 1. Jyoti Sunita Kullu (Rlys) 9; 2. Balwinder Kaur (Har) 8; 3. Sandeep Kaur (Rly), Mohan Davinder Kaur (Pun) and Kamala (Har) 6 each.
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