Date:15/07/2004 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2004/07/15/stories/2004071511792000.htm

Sport - Hockey

IOB edges past BPCL

BANGALORE, JULY 14. Defending champion Indian Overseas Bank beat challengers Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited via tiebreaker in the first semifinal of the V. Karunakaran & D.S. Murthy Memorial all-India inter-club hockey tournament here on Wednesday. IOB won 8-7 in a pulsating tie-breaker after the match was locked 3-3 during regulation time.

Amar Aiyamma was the first to break through the defence to put BPCL ahead with a superb effort in the 12th minute. IOB's opener was scored by Gopinath in the 17th. The match swung IOB's way when Muthuselvan made no mistake off a penalty corner in the 23th minute.

In the 35th minute, Amar Aiyamma ensured BPCL was still in the match, bringing up his second goal. Tushar Khandekar brought a flicker of hope for the challenger, scoring in the 53rd minute. But, with barely three minutes to go, IOB's Gopinath scored his second goal off a penalty corner in the 67th minute. The match went into extra-time after that.

After extra-time failed to break the deadlock, IOB came up trumps with Felix, Senthil, Anandan, Gopinath and Arun Kumar scoring. BPCL's Ravi Naicker, Irshad Ali, Prakash and Tushar Khandekar scored but Amar Aiyamma's shot was saved.

The second semifinal between Army XI and Madras Engineering Group (runner-up last year) also went into a tie-breaker.

Jerome Kujur put Army XI ahead in the 15th minute while Elizar Ekka struck for MEG in the 63rd minute. The extra time was unproductive for either side and the match went into the tie-breaker where Army XI beat MEG 6-5.

Avtar Singh, Suresh Kumar,M.S Murum, A.K Ray and Mahadik scored for Army XI in the tie-breaker while MEG's Anil Minj, Marudupandian, Dinesh Tirkey and Binay Kujur scored. Shankaranarayan was the one to miss out.