Sunday, Jul 14, 2002
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Hockey
By Our Hockey Correspondent
Dhanraj Pillay (right) celebrates his goal by exchanging high-fives with Mukesh Kumar (left), as IOC's goalkeeper Devesh Chauhan walks back dejectedly in the All India MCC Murugappa Gold Cup hockey tournament in Chennai on Saturday.
Railways 7 Customs & Excise 2 ONGC 4 Air India 2 IA 4 Indian Oil 2
The margin should eradicate the impression that the outcome was a fluke, or even an aberration. It was total and comprehensive, and surfaced out of pure skill and style getting the better of expertise and experience in international competitions. Even Indian Airlines looked unsettled for a moment, trailing 1-2 to Indian Oil, but a scintillating goal by Dhanraj Pillay minutes before the end of the first half put the teams on the same pedestal at 2-2 in Pool C, before outplaying the rival in the end. True, Air India is a name to contend with on the domestic scene. But on this day, it showed neither the resources nor the resilience to smother the wiles and guiles of the compactly built striker Mohammad Fahad who obtained a brace, Prabhakar and Amardeep Singh. What struck the onlookers was the effort behind each goal, and the fact that twice ONGC had to come from a deficit to share the honours 2-2 at half-time. Notwithstanding the good mid-field work of Vikram Pillay and the seasoned Gavin Ferreira, the Air India frontline was anything but consistent. Davinder and Roshan Tate sparkled now and then. And when Roshan Tate made the most of a skirmish in front of the goal early in the first half, one thought that Air India was in for a smooth flight. But the bump was quick to come. Mohammad Fahad struck the equaliser. Air India again was on a steady route with Davinder Kumar hoisting the lead. Within minutes the equaliser came from Mohammad Fahad. However, there were no indications of an impending upset at this point. But, midway through Prabhakar scored a peach of a goal from the top of the circle. Clearly buoyed by this splendid turn, ONGC hiked up pressure around the fumbling Air India defence. The issue was put beyond doubt when Amardeep Pratap produced an immaculate backhander off a cross from Fahad. ONGC, which lost the opening match to Karnataka, has three points, and has finished its programme. ONGC's chances rely on the outcome of the Air India-Karnataka encounter tomorrow. It may be needless to say the focus of Indian Airlines was on the guest star. Almost in every move Dhanraj figured prominently and could have hoisted the lead had only Virender found the mark in the early minutes. However, Dilip Tirkey produced a withering shot from a penalty corner for the lead. But Indian Oil recovered commendably thanks to the initiative of Deepak Thakur, Inderjeet Singh and Prabhjot Singh. Of the three, Prabhjot Singh was the brightest, netting two splendid goals. Indian Oil, however, was overwhelmed in the second half. Y.S. Rawat scored from a splendid deflection off a long pass by Mohammad Riaz. An obstruction by Jaswinder Singh on Dhanraj brought Airlines a stroke which Prabhodh Tirkey converted. In the closing minutes, Devesh Chauhan obstructed a shot by Virender Singh, but Prabhodh Tirkey flunked it. Indian Railways, runner-up last time, began its programme on a resounding note hammering in seven goals against Customs and Central Excise in the morning in Pool D. The winner led 2-1 at half-time. The highlight was the hat-trick by Bikramjit Singh, all the three coming from penalty corners. Iqbal Singh, Chander Pal (2) and Kuljeet were the other scorers. Rahul Singh and Vikram Singh netted for Customs and Central Excise. Railways takes on Tamil Nadu tomorrow to decide the qualifiers. Tamil Nadu needs only a draw, or at least avoid a devastating defeat, to make the grade. Excise finished its programme with one point, earned from a 1-1 draw against Tamil Nadu. Sunday's matches: IHF Juniors v Bharat Petroleum (7 a.m.); Karnataka v Air India (2-30 p.m.); Indian Railways v Tamil Nadu (4-30 p.m.).
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