JOIN USPNB through to semifinals
Punjab National Bank (PNB) continued their winning spree, beating Indian Air Force 3-0 in the day’s last quarterfinal fixture in the Bengaluru Super Hockey League at the Hockey Stadium here on Wednesday.
Army XI Red, Oil & Natural Gas Corporation Ltd (ONGC) and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) too registered wins to enter the semifinals.
Title-favourites PNB’s fast-paced attack proved too much for IAF as they struggled to find their footing in the game.
PNB attacked from the word go and deservedly took the lead through their skipper Shivdeep Dawra in the 11th minute.
Two minutes later, the Bankmen doubled their advantage through defender Gagandeep Singh, who unleashed an unstoppable hit from a penalty corner, which ended in the top right corner of the net.
Down 0-2, IAF pushed back for a goal as the first half neared its end. And they almost pulled one back through Ajit Pandit but an alert PNB’s custodian Jasbir Singh parried his effort away.
The Bankmen increased their tally in the 49th minute through Gurjinder Singh.
IAF pressed hard late in the game but the PNB defence remained firm.
The Bankmen will take on ONGC in the semifinals on Friday. ONGC overcame All India Customs 4-3 in another quarters tie.
Earlier, skipper Pawal Lakra scored a treble (39th, 56th, 59th minutes) as Army Red toppled IOCL 4-1. The Armymen will take on BPCL in the other last-four tie. BPCL edged past South Central Railway (SCR) 1-0.
Results: Quarterfinals: Army XI Red: 4 (Pawal Lakra 39th, 56th, 59th, Dhiran Uthappa 35th) bt IOCL: (Amit 66th); BPCL: 1 (M Sampath 53rd) bt SCR: 0; ONGC: 4 (Diwakar Ram 41st, Navjot Singh 50th, Sumit Kumar 65th, Jarmanpreet Singh 70th) bt Customs: 3 (Hassan Basha 23rd, 66th, Nikkin Chendanda 56th); PNB: 3 (Shivdeep Dawra 11th, Gagandeep Singh 13th, Gurjinder Singh 49th) bt IAF: 0.
On Friday: Semifinals: Army XI Red vs BPCL (2 pm); ONGC vs PNB (4 pm).