<p>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.<br /><br />Army XI Red, Oil & Natural Gas Corporation Ltd (ONGC) and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) too registered wins to enter the semifinals.<br /><br />Title-favourites PNB’s fast-paced attack proved too much for IAF as they struggled to find their footing in the game.<br /><br />PNB attacked from the word go and deservedly took the lead through their skipper Shivdeep Dawra in the 11th minute.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />The Bankmen increased their tally in the 49th minute through Gurjinder Singh.<br /><br />IAF pressed hard late in the game but the PNB defence remained firm.<br /><br />The Bankmen will take on ONGC in the semifinals on Friday. ONGC overcame All India Customs 4-3 in another quarters tie.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />On Friday: Semifinals: Army XI Red vs BPCL (2 pm); ONGC vs PNB (4 pm).</p>
<p>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.<br /><br />Army XI Red, Oil & Natural Gas Corporation Ltd (ONGC) and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) too registered wins to enter the semifinals.<br /><br />Title-favourites PNB’s fast-paced attack proved too much for IAF as they struggled to find their footing in the game.<br /><br />PNB attacked from the word go and deservedly took the lead through their skipper Shivdeep Dawra in the 11th minute.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />The Bankmen increased their tally in the 49th minute through Gurjinder Singh.<br /><br />IAF pressed hard late in the game but the PNB defence remained firm.<br /><br />The Bankmen will take on ONGC in the semifinals on Friday. ONGC overcame All India Customs 4-3 in another quarters tie.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />On Friday: Semifinals: Army XI Red vs BPCL (2 pm); ONGC vs PNB (4 pm).</p>
