Date:19/09/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/09/19/stories/2008091958032000.htm

Sport - Hockey

Drawn encounters order of the day

BANGALORE: Drawn encounters were the order of the day in the Phase One fixtures of the State Super Division hockey league championship here at the SAI South Centre ground on Thursday.

In the first match, Sports Authority of India (SAI) was held to a 2-2 draw by Madras Engineering Group & Centre while Centre Of Excellence (CoE) stole a point off fancied Karnataka State Police (KSP) with an identical 2-2 scoreline.

SAI went 2-0 up with goals from Nilesh (8th) and Deepak (22nd) but just before the half-time whistle, Kiran Kunjappa reduced the margin. In the 50th minute Keshavan struck the equaliser for the Sappers.

Having lost their opening day’s encounter on Wednesday, CoE and KSP were keen on tallying their first points of the tournament. They played in right earnest and all the four goals came in the first session itself.

Krishna Kishore notched both goals for CoE in the 10th and 18th minutes only to see Pradeep return the compliment with a twin strike in the 20th and 25th minutes.

Meanwhile it has been decided to hold the second phase of the league championship (with eight teams already seeded) at the SAI Centre.