Sunday, Jul 21, 2002
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Hockey
By Our Hockey Correspondent
Indian Airlines 3 Karnataka 1
The Indian Airlines hockey team, which won the MCC-Murugappa Gold Cup hockey tournament, with the chief guest, Mr. M.A. Alagappan, vice-chairman Murugappa Group (sitting centre) and other officials.
The winner led 2-1 at half-time. Karnataka earned a cash award of Rs. 40,000. Quite expectedly, it was an enjoyable fare for the large crowd although the outcome went in favour of a much stronger formation for which the seasoned Dhanraj Pillay was once again in dazzling form. Not only did he give the team the lead in the early minutes but also played a conspicuous role in every sally that the Airlines managed to contrive. His proficiency and pace were in full bloom, giving the spectators many a moment to savour the finesse of competitive hockey of a true Indian variety. With Virender Singh and Y.S. Rawat giving Dhanraj the required assistance the Airlines frontline showed palpable vibrancy almost throughout. In the mid-field, Bimal Lakra and the veteran Riaz contributed immensely to keep the flow of attack on an even keel. Bimal flashed into the picture repeatedly as the attacking mid-fielder, and paved the way for the opening goal. Dancing through a host of defenders, he set up a lovely pass for Dhanraj Pillay to complete what was decidedly a well-conceived and executed move. Spurred by this success, Airlines enlarged the velocity of the attacks and forced two penalty corners. A withering shot by Riaz followed by one more by Dilip Tirkey shook the Karnataka citadel. But no harm came out of these actions thanks to the gallant saves by Bharat Chetri. Actually, the margin does not portray adequately the extent of the excellent work of Bharat Chetri. Karnataka did not give up despite being subjected to relentless pressure. Though the frontline lacked the harmony noticed in the earlier encounters, Cyprian Aind strove manfully to give the attack that needed edge. The rest were individualistic. Moreover, the yellow card suspension to Kavin, the captain, and later to the energetic, Sandeep Michael, put the brake on the forward line, and spoiled its rhythm to some extent. However, Karnataka managed to achieve parity midway through with a crafty flick from Arjun Halappa. Airlines hit the upfront again when Virender tapped in an astute pass from Y.S. Rawat. And for the major part of the second half, Airlines was in full control of the trend. The only aberration during this phase was the yellow card for Mukesh Kumar for a hard tackle on Arun Rawat. Dhanraj caught the attention of one and all with his sinuous runs. Virender missed a sitter after gathering the pass from Dhanraj Pillay. But Ravinder Singh made capital out of a well-set pass from Dhanraj. By now the verdict had more or less been decided, but Karnataka was not prepared to take it without carrying the fight to the final minute. In fact, the team forced four penalty corners after the regulation time. But the scoreline remained the same. Mention however has to be made of the few sparkling saves by Ashish Ballal under the bar. The veteran once again proved that the spirit in him has not diminished a wee-bit despite the passing years since that wonderful night at Bangkok four years ago. Dhanraj Pillay was declared the man of the match and also the best forward. Arjun Halappa of Karnataka (midfielder) and Anurag Raghuvanshi of ONGC (defender) received special prizes. Mr M.A. Alagappan, vice-chairman and Director Strategies, Murugappa Group, presided and gave away the prizes. Mr R.S. Rajasekhar, president, Madras Cricket Club, welcomed the gathering, and Mr B. Vijaykumar, organising secretary, proposed a vote of thanks. The teams: Indian Airlines: Ashish Ballal (GK), Jagdish Ponnappa, Dilip Tirkey (C), Vinay, Mohammad Riaz, Prabhodh Tirkey, Ravinder Singh, Lazarus Barla, Mukesh Kumar, Dhanraj Pillay, Syed Irshad Ali, Sanjay Bist, Y.S. Rawat, Suresh Kumar, Bimal Lakra, and Virender Singh. Karnataka: Bharat Chetri (GK), Arun Babu, Ronald Kiran, Rama Rao, K.P. Roy, Arjun Halappa, Arun Rawat, Bipin Thimmiah, Lakshman Rao, Cyprian Aind, Sandeep Michael, A.K. Kavin (C), Sunil Ekka, P.T. Aiyappa, Ignace Tirkey, and Somanna. Umpires: Satinder Sharma (Chandigarh) and Md. Muneer (TN).
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