The Hindu : Tamil Nadu overcomes Hyderabad

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Apr 29, 2002

Sport

Sport - Hockey

Tamil Nadu overcomes Hyderabad

By Our Sports Reporter

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM APRIL 28. Defending champion Tamil Nadu withstood a spirited rally from Hyderabad before recording a 3-1 win in the 17th South Zone senior hockey championship at the University stadium here on Sunday.

Two goals in a space of five minutes by Tamil Nadu in the second half ended the Hyderabad challenge. Hyderabad, which trailed by a 18th minute Prabakaran goal in the first half, came back splendidly after the break to force the equaliser through Manoj Singh who converted a penalty corner in the 59th minute.

However, Prabakaran (62nd) and Nagendran (64th) scored in quick succession to clinch the issue for their side. Tamil Nadu was easily the better side in the first half with pronounced dominance in the midfield.

Moreover, Nagendran on the right was a constant threat for the Hyderabad defence. He often found ample space to move up and create chances for his fellow striker Prabakaran and one such sally resulted in the first goal. Nagendran's cross was blocked by the goalkeeper but the rebound was tapped in by an alert Prabakaran in the 18th minute.

However, the tempo did not pick in the first half with both sides struggling to control the ball on the uneven turf. The second half saw a rejuvenated Hyderabad launch a string of raids at the rival goal.

The Tamil Nadu defence that was composed in the first half caved in under pressure and conceded penalty corners at regular intervals. The uneven turf made it difficult for players to stop the push and Hyderabad saw at least three penalty corners being wasted. However, Manoj Singh sounded the boards off the third penalty corner to score the equaliser. But the joy was shortlived as Tamil Nadu scored two quick goals to put the issue beyond doubt.

It was again the Nagendran-Prabakaran combine that spelt doom for Hyderabad. Prabakaran was there at the right spot to tap in a cross from Nagendran, who had dribbled his way into the rival `D' without much fuss in the 62nd minute.

Two minutes later, Nagendran capped a fine day for him by scoring his team's third goal. Hyderabad finished its engagements with one point from two matches.

Earlier, Andhra held last year's runner-up Karnataka to a 1-1 draw in a Pool `A' match. With this draw Andhra finished its engagements with two points and awaits the result of the final match in the league between Kerala and Karnataka for a place in the semifinals.

Karnataka started promisingly with Arjun Halappa scoring in the 9th minute to underline its early dominance. But the side paid the price for being complacent as Andhra pulled back the well-deserved equaliser in the 60th minute through S. Mohan Kumar in the 60th minute.

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