The Hindu : Sport / Hockey : Light Blues beats Youngsters

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Monday, Oct 03, 2005

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Light Blues beats Youngsters

Special Correspondent

Shabbir and Mudassar helped the Pakistanis make a gallant comeback but in vain

NEW DELHI: Down 1-4, Lahore's Youngsters Club came back strongly but time ran out for the Pakistani side as it lost 3-4 to India Light Blues in a round-robin match of the Lal Bahadur Shastri hockey tournament at the Shivaji Stadium here on Sunday.

Earlier, the India under-18 team beat Telekom (Malaysia) 2-1 to provide an upset of sorts.

With three Olympians Tariq Aziz, Muhammad Shabbir and Mudassar Ali Khan in the frontline and several others with the `international' tag, the Pakistani side could have earned a draw at least. As it turned out, in an absorbing contest in front of a good, holiday crowd, the Lahore side took too long to wrest midfield control and found itself hopelessly placed by then.

The Indian team, with a number of key players from the last Junior World Cup in the line-up, put up a stouthearted display, especially in the first half when its dominance was almost complete. Vivek Gupta at the pivotal position and Vikram Pillay at right half were particularly prominent while up front, Tushar Khandkar was on the prowl for the slightest of openings.

Khandkar starts it

Khandkar set the ball rolling, getting a deflection off a Vivek Gupta free hit in the ninth minute. Jugraj Singh, heavy and a little sluggish, showed that he had not lost touch with his craft — the penalty corner flick — by netting the second goal in the 25th minute. In the next minute the Light Blues went three up with Hari Prasad connecting a long-hit centre from Prabodh Tirkey.

The Pakistani side came back into the match thanks to the enterprise shown by Shabbir, eventually named `man of the match', and Mudassar. The Indian team felt the absence of Gupta in the second half due to a leg injury and though Vikram kept the attacking going, gradually the Pakistanis asserted themselves with some lightning counter thrusts.

A series of free hits near the right corner led to an Aziz pass to Mudassar in the middle and the Youngsters' captain trapped and drove in one fluent motion for his team's first goal in the 48th minute. But before long the Indian side enlarged the lead, when Sardar Singh, lurking inside the `D', quietly tapped in a cross from Vikram after the latter had run down the right flank.

As Jugraj's foot came in the way during a penalty corner sequence, umpire Suresh Bhatia awarded a penalty stroke to the Pakistani team — and the yellow card to Jugraj for arguing — which Aziz converted to make it 2-4. Khalid Mahmood flicked in off the fifth penalty corner to make it 3-4 with five minutes to go.

Malaysians disappoint

The Malaysians disappointed against the India under-18 team in the day's opening match. Though without Dhanraj Pillay and Len Aiyappa, the two Indians who had been listed as `guest players' in its team, Telekom could have come up with a far better show.

Full marks to the inexperienced under-18 team for a good performance marked by a splendid rally in the second half. Goals by Pramod and Gurwinder Chandi in the 48th and 58th minutes helped the Indian team triumph. Mohammed Razie Abd Rahim had put the Malaysian side ahead in the fourth minute through a penalty corner.

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