The Hindu : Sport : Bangalore Hi-Fliers wins third final to take PHL title

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Bangalore Hi-Fliers wins third final to take PHL title

Vijay Lokapally

Chetri’s inspired performance douses Chandigarh Dynamos’ hopes

— Photo: Akhilesh Kumar

TRIUMPHANT: The Bangalore Hi-Fliers players are a jubilant bunch after taking top honours in the PHL on Friday.

CHANDIGARH: He did not score but deprived the opponent with a brave show under the bar.

Goalkeepers rarely get recognised for their brilliance but Bharat Chetri’s performance needs to be documented in glorious terms as he fashioned Bangalore Hi-Fliers’ title-clinching 2-1 win over Chandigarh Dynamos in the third final of the ESPN Premier Hockey League.

Hi-Fliers had few supporters at the Sector 42 Stadium but then it needed none as Chetri motivated the team with a flawless show. He conceded a Sandeep Singh-drag flick but there was hardly any time left for Dynamos to dream of a comeback. The match had been swung Hi-Fliers’ way in the second and fourth quarter through some splendid team work.

Team effort

Dynamos, favoured to win, relied too much on individual brilliance but Hi-Fliers did not. The Bangalore team had a man for every crucial position on the field, beginning with the one that counted the most.

Chetri’s repeated saves did not go unsung when Len Aiyappa and You Hyo Sik scored once each to assert their dominance and change in tactics for the third final after the first two had been shared.

The initial forays came at the behest of Rajpal and Inderjit Chadha as Dynamos looked to establish supremacy. Deepak Thakur had little role to play but he gradually created opportunities as the game progressed.

For Hi-Fliers, Tushar Khandekar, who had another lovely outing, and Cheeyanna crafted some dangerous moves. Support came from S.V. Sunil, a persistent threat on the right flank.

Arjun Halappa, the untiring worker for Hi-Fliers, created the first incisive move in tandem with Khandekar but Sunil made an unbelievable error, failing to tap in the ball at the goalmouth.

Then Halappa, adjudged the ‘man of the tournament’, produced an amazing through pass but Khandekar failed to finish the move.

Barren first quarter

The first quarter ended on a barren note but the second saw the Dynamos start sensationally when Thakur earned three successive attempts but could not get past Chetri. Hardly had Hi-Fliers recovered when Rajpal came alarmingly close but Chetri left him no angle to explore.

From a counterattack, Hi-Fliers earned its first penalty corner and a goal when Len Aiyappa’s drag flick flew in from a deflection off rusher Sandeep’ s stick.

Dynamos pressed hard and twice came close. Chetri first palmed off Sandeep’s drag flick and then Thakur sent out a superb pass by S.S. Gill. When one more penalty corner was wasted, it appeared to be Hi-Fliers’ night at the home of hockey.

It came true in the last quarter when Hi-Fliers plugged all the loopholes to shut the opposition out. Rajpal and Thakur struggled even though Ravi Pal Singh worked hard to get that inspiring goal for Dynamos. Cheeyanna twice cut off Dynamos’ designs even as most Hi-Fliers moves fizzled out near the rival circle.

Sik shines

It was then time for Sik, the agile Korean, to raise his game and he did it in great style by scoring a goal with nine minutes left for the match to end.

Hari Prasad wove his way past the defence on the right flank and sent in a great minus which Sik, lurking at the goalmouth, tapped in. Dynamos was crestfallen.

Thakur made a terrific run only to be denied by ‘man of the match’ Chetri. Soon Rajpal failed to connect. Aiyappa hit the crosspiece in a counter-attack

With 30 seconds to go, Sandeep scored from a drag flick. Hopes rose in the 20,000 strong crowd but Dynamos ran out of time.

Hi-Fliers, a deserving winner on Friday, took home Rs. 40 lakh while Dynamos received Rs. 20 lakh.

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