The Hindu : Sport / Hockey : India Dark Blues outplays Youngsters

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Oct 05, 2005

Sport

Sport - Hockey

India Dark Blues outplays Youngsters

Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI: India Dark Blues outplayed Youngsters Club (Lahore) 4-1 to score its third straight victory in the round-robin phase of the Lal Bahadur Shastri hockey tournament at the Shivaji Stadium here on Tuesday.

With this victory, the two senior India teams — Dark Blues and Light Blues (also three wins) — look set to clash in Saturday's final. Both have a match against Telekom Malaysia apart from the clash between them that will be on Wednesday.

Earlier, India Juniors beat Telekom Malaysia 3-2. The Juniors have a one-win, two-loss record, the same as the India under-18 team and the Pakistani team. The Malaysians suffered their third successive defeat.

Winger Prabhjot Singh scored a hat-trick for Dark Blues. He scored his first two goals, in a five-minute spell after the interval, off hard reverse hits. He tapped in his third following a passing sequence among Bimal Lakra, Sunil Yadav and Arjun Halappa in the 53rd minute. Prabhjot was adjudged the `man of the match'.

For the Lahore side, Kashif Ali scored the lone goal off a penalty corner in the 42nd minute (1-3). Six other penalty corners went abegging for the Pakistanis. Dark Blues had opened its scoring in the fifth minute off its first penalty corner. Prabhdeep Singh converted.

Commendable display

This was a commendable display by the senior India team that had not found its attacking rhythm in the earlier matches. On Tuesday, the attacking line, especially on either flank, functioned splendidly, though in the second half, with the Pakistanis on the look-out for goals, the defence was at the mercy of Prabhjot.

Telekom Malaysia put up a spirited fight against India Juniors. It led 2-1 at one stage in the second half before going down by a 54th minute penalty stroke goal by full back Kuldeep Bhadoria, the `man of the match'.

Bhadoria had provided the lead as well with a penalty corner conversion in the eighth minute. The Malaysians struck back through goals from I. Vicknesawaran (penalty corner) and Nabil Fiqr Mohammed Nor. Vijay Alphonoso equalised for India Juniors.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Sport