The Hindu : Sport : Gurpreet is the hero as Air-India enters semifinals via tie-breaker

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Friday, Apr 22, 2005

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Gurpreet is the hero as Air-India enters semifinals via tie-breaker

Hockey Correspondent

— Photo: Vino John

MAN OF THE MOMENT: Gurpreet Singh (second from right), the Air-India custodian who effected two crucial saves in the tie-breaker, is mobbed by team-mates.

CHENNAI: Neither of the quarterfinals in the MCC-Murugappa Gold Cup hockey tournament on Thursday deserves an eloquent description. But the defining moment of the day, at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium, came when Roshan Tete converted the last flick from the tie-breaker for Air-India to push IHF Juniors out of the competition and earn his team a semifinal berth.

The teams were deadlocked 1-1 at the end of regulation time, and in the tie-breaker Air-India slotted four of the five while IHF Juniors managed only three. Predictably, Air-India's hero was goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh who effected two brilliant saves.

Earlier, Tamil Nadu rallied commendably from a 0-1 deficit at half-time to register a 2-1 victory over Border Security Force (Jalandhar).

If there was a moment which the Olympic custodian Adrian D'Souza would love to forget it was the last push of the match on Thursday evening.

The teams had tied at 3-3 in the tie-breaker. As Roshan Tete flicked, Adrian moved into position, stopped the ball and exulted a trifle early, not noticing the ball agonisingly roll across the goal-line.

The Air-India players erupted in joy while it was disappointment and dejection for the IHF lads.

The contest was just mediocre and there was nothing praiseworthy. Try, as the teams did, neither could take command of the situation. The lead that IHF Juniors gained after a goal-less first half emerged when Ajitesh Rai deflected a cross from Vinay from the right.

Though the IHF team gained a touch of verve subsequent to the lead, there was nothing to suggest that they would be translated into goals. On the contrary, Air-India produced the equaliser midway through when Deepak Kumar pumped in a penalty corner.

There was a speck of rough play leading to a yellow card suspension for Vikas Pillay from Md. Muneer who himself sustained a finger injury after dashing against an Air-India player waiting as substitute in the sideline.

Muneer needed brief medical attention before play could be resumed.

The tie-breaker became inevitable after the 15 minutes extra-time failed to bring in a golden goal. Deepak Kumar, Yadwinder Singh, Kishore Kumar and Roshan Tete scored for Air India, while Sardar Singh, Raghunath and Pawal Lakra were successful for IHF Juniors.

TN's resilience

In the earlier contest, Tamil Nadu, displaying a good measure of resilience, recovered well from a stunning early reverse.

Even before the defence could settle came the lead for BSF.

The credit for pumping in a scorcher should go to Mangru Tirkey. It took quite a while for Tamil Nadu to shrug off the impact of the early blow. The defence despite being manned by the seasoned Dinesh Nayak lacked consistency, as did the mid-field. Even the frontline showed inadequacy in threading combined moves. Only Venkatesan worked with some energy almost throughout.

The equaliser came with Ramesh Babu smashing the ball into the boards. Buoyed by the goal, Tamil Nadu wrested the initiative engulfing the BSF defence in a series of attacks led admirably by Hayath and Raja. When 11 minutes remained for the hooter Tamil Nadu touched its brightest moment when Muthukumar capitalised on a goal-mouth skirmish to score the match-winner.

The results: (quarterfinals): Tamil Nadu 2 (Ramesh Babu, Muthukumar) bt BSF, Jalandhar 1 (Mangru Tirkey).

Air India 5 (Deepak Kumar 2, Yadwinder Singh, Kishore Kumar, Roshan Tete) bt IHF Juniors 4 (Ajitesh Rai, Sardar Singh, Raghunath, Pawal Lakra). (via tie-breaker).

The semifinal line-up: Indian Airlines v Army XI, Tamil Nadu v Air India.

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