Date:23/04/2006 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/04/23/stories/2006042308741800.htm

Sport - Hockey

Namdhari XI in last four

Special Correspondent

MUMBAI: Namdhari XI used its drag flick experts to outplay Bhopal XI 5-2 in the quarterfinal of the 44th Bombay Gold Cup hockey tournament at the Mahindra Stadium here on Saturday.

The strapping Gurpreet Singh was the cynosure of all eyes, leaving his opponents stunned and the faithful at Churchgate applauding his fine feat. Gurpreet converted three drag flicks. For a change, the team opted for Gurcharan Singh to do the trick in the fourth penalty corner, but the result was the same. Harbhajan Singh struck a hard slinging shot to score Namdhari XI's fifth goal.

Army XI and Western Railway will clash with Bombay Customs and Sikh Regiment Centre respectively in the remaining quarterfinals on Sunday.

Former international Samir Dad was absent in the field because of a fractured hand and Bhopal XI suffered to a large extent due to it with no one to take charge and make an impact.

Namdhari XI took some time to make its tactics work, but once Gurpreet converted two short corners before the interval, Bhopal XI was shut out of the game.

Gurpreet's stellar show

Gurpreet also played the role of a playmaker, hitting shot and long flat passes. Bhopal XI did manage to score twice towards the end, with Yoginder Singh and Altaf-ur-Rehman finding the net.

Earlier, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited edged out South Central Railway 7-6. Thanks to goalkeeper P.K. Pfoklero's splendid show, SCR had got the better of its rivals in the two previous matches. But, the team from Hyderabad was as not as lucky the third time around.

Smart effort

Tushar Khandekar opened the scoring for BPCL with a smart effort. In the second half, SCR was staring down the barrel when Mayur Subbiah equalised to keep its hopes alive. Thereafter, Pfoklero came to his side's rescue at least four times in the last fifteen minutes.

In the tie-breaker, M.K. Prakash, Deepak Sharma, Ravi Nayakar and Len Aiyappa scored for BPCL while Prabhakar Singh, K.K. Bharath, M. Aleem and N. Ramesh scored for SCR. In the sudden death, Prakash and Len Aiyappa held their nerves and found the net. Prabhakar was successful a second time, but Ramesh's failed effort sealed SCR's fate.