Sr. Men Hockey C'ship: CAG play out 1-1 draw against Chandigarh

Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh): Comptroller & Auditor General of India (CAG) settled for a 1-1 draw against Hockey Chandigarh in their Pool D clash of the 8th Hockey India Senior Men National Championship 2018 (A Division) here at the Padma Shri Mohammad Shahid Synthetic Hockey Stadium.

In the opening match of the fourth day, Chandigarh took the lead in the eighth minute through Balwinder Singh but Comptroller & Auditor General of India made a comeback in the third quarter as they found the equaliser through Md Naeemuddin in the 42nd minute to stay in the hunt of topping the Pool with a tally of five points.

In another Pool D match, it was Namdhari XI who won their second match of the competition as they beat Association of Indian Universities 2-0.

Goals for Namdhari XI were scored in the first two quarters by Sher Singh (4') and Navdeep Singh (24') and were enough for them to secure the victory as they take their tally to six points from three matches, topping the Pool.

In a Pool B match, it was Air India Sports Promotion Board who came from behind twice to earn a 2-2 draw against Punjab & Sind Bank. The draw sees Air India Sports Promotion Board stay top of the Pool with seven points while Punjab & Sind Bank occupy the third spot with five points.

Goals for Punjab & Sind Bank were scored by Gaganpreet Singh in the 11th and the 25th minutes but Air India Sports Promotion Board made a comeback with Satbir Singh scoring a brace in the 19th and 48th minutes.

In the other Pool B match, Haryana saw themselves move to the second spot in the Pool standings as they defeated Gangpur-Odisha 3-2. It was a well-fought match between the two sides as Hockey Gangpur-Odisha took a 2-1 lead after 37 minutes, however, Haryana came back through some attacking intent and scored twice in the last 20 minutes to grab a 3-2 win.

Goals for Haryana were scored by Mandeep Antil (20'), Vishal Dahiya (40') and Jonny Jasrotia (58') while Roshan Minz (27', 37') scored a brace for Gangpur-Odisha.

In a Pool C match, Punjab ended up playing a 3-3 draw with The Mumbai Hockey Association Ltd to occupy the first position in the Pool with a tally of seven points from three matches. The match saw The Mumbai Hockey Association Ltd take a 3-2 lead after 39 minutes, but Hockey Punjab showed character and found the equaliser in dying stages.

Goals for Punjab were scored by Jasjit Singh Kular (7', 57') and Varinder Singh (23') while Victo Singh (9'), Manpreet Singh (35') and skipper Yuvraj Walmiki (39') scored the goals for The Mumbai Hockey Association Ltd.

In another Pool C match, Karnataka beat Services Sports Control Board 3-1 to secure their first win of the competition. The match saw Karnataka take the lead in the 3rd minute and Services Sports Control Board equalised in the 15th minute. But Karnataka found their rhythm to score two more goals to secure the win.

Goals for Karnataka were scored by Abharan Sudev (3', 54') and SP Veeranna Gowda (39') while Sanjib Dungdung scored the only goal for Services Sports Control Board.

In Pool A, Railway Sports Promotion Board scored a 5-0 victory over Uttar Pradesh Hockey to make it three consecutive victories in the competition and remain top of the Pool with a tally of nine points. The match saw Railway Sports Promotion Board score a goal each in the first three quarters and end the final quarter with two more goals to secure a convincing 5-0 victory.

Goals for Railway Sports Promotion Board were scored by Kusha Gowda (6'), Rajin Kandulna (28'), Karanpal Singh (45'), Sheshe Gowda (58') and Malak Singh (60').

In the last match of the day, Odisha won their second match of the competition as they defeated Madhya Pradesh Hockey Academy 4-2. The match saw Madhya Pradesh Academy score first in the 13th minute through Shaun Glen Gladwin, but Odisha struck twice in four minutes to take a 2-1 lead after 19th minutes.

Madhya Pradesh Hockey Academy tried to make a comeback as skipper Shakir Hussain scored a field-goal in the 46th minute. But Odisha proved too strong for their opponents as they scored two more goals in the last five minutes of the match to snatch a 4-2 victory and take their tally to six points from three matches. Goals for Odisha were scored by Nilam Sanjeep Xess (15', 19', 55') and Ashok Lakra (57').