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DAV College retains title

Special Correspondent

— Photo: Sandeep Saxena

CHAMPION AGAIN: DAV College (Jalandhar), which retained its crown.

NEW DELHI: Defending champion DAV College (Jalandhar) outclassed Jawaharlal Nehru PG College (Bhopal) 5-2 after leading 2-1 at half-time in the final of the 15th SAIL Nehru Champion Colleges hockey tournament at the Shivaji Stadium here on Friday.

It was the Jalandhar team’s ninth title and the fifth in the last six editions.

In a repeat final, there was no dearth of entertainment and the staunch supporters of the game were kept happy with a flurry of goals on a pleasant winter evening. Incidentally, all the seven goals in the match were spontaneous efforts in the run of play and not through set pieces.

Ajay’s deft touch

The tough Jalandhar team had the strike force and the physical strength to intimidate its talented opponent. It was the ever agile Ajay Kumar who sparked the flow with a crisp deflection and an opportunistic tap-in to score the first two goals for the Jalandhar team midway through the first half.

The Bhopal team responded with a sharp strike from Satish Kumar Lama. The contest hotted up on resumption with Major Singh increasing the lead for the Jalandhar side, while Satish Kumar struck again with a patented crisp shot.

At this juncture, DAV pulled away through Jujhar Singh’s telling blows. On both occasions, Jujhar provided the finishing touch to the smart work done by Major Singh. Jawaharlal Nehru PG College forced seven penalty corners and the Jalandhar team three.

The champion team took home Rs. 96,000 and the runner-up Rs. 64,000. Lyallpur Khalsa College (Jalandhar), which beat Sri Guru Gobind Singh College (Chandigarh) 2-1 in the match for the third place, collected Rs. 32,000.

DAV coach, Gundeep Singh, was presented Rs. 8,000 while the coaches of the runner-up side (M. Hasan) and the third placed-team (Avtar Singh) were given Rs. 5,000 and Rs. 3,000.

The Pepsi penalty corner award of Rs. 20,000 was won by Lyallpur Khalsa.

The Minister of State for Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises, Ms. Kanti Singh, gave away the prizes.

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