By Our Hockey Correspondent

CHENNAI, AUG. 18. Individual excellence more than integrated work that constitutes the aesthetics of hockey was predominant in the contests on view this evening in the Madras Cricket Club- Murugappa Gold Cup tournament at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium. No one symbolised this aspect more significantly than the seasoned campaigner of Air India, Edward Arahna, whose two goals conveyed the effectiveness of the sense of opportunism that makes hockey a fascinating sport.

At the end of the day, Air India, composed of many a battle scarred veterans like Edward Aranha, Gavin Ferreira, Anil Aldrin and Cornelius D'Costa put it across an equally experienced outfit, Punjab Police in Pool B.

With three points this evening and a match remaining against Karnataka, Air India looks firmly ensconced for a place in the last eight. Punjab Police, which drew its opening match against Karnataka (2-2) is compelled to wait on the sidelines on Sunday to know its fate.

A draw is sufficient for Karnataka to sail through. However, if it loses by more than three goals, then Punjab Police will be back in contention in the quarterfinal. A victory for Karnataka, a distinct possibility considering its strength, will push Punjab Police out of the competition.

Buoyed by the brilliant second minute goal by Gavin Ferreira, who connected a long shot from Cornelius D'Costa, Air India managed to keep intense pressure on the rival defence, which even fielded the Olympian and that outstanding defender, Pargat Singh, briefly in both the sessions.

The verve in the Air India frontline, led by Devinder Kumar and Edward Aranha, surfaced largely on account of the good mid-field work by Rajesh Chauhan and Gavin Ferreira, well in the deep defence by Anil Aldrin and Manjit Singh.

However, Punjab Police restored parity midway through from a penalty corner tapped in by Sarabhjit Singh after a shot by Gabbar Singh was saved by Edgar Mascarenhas. But the joy was shortlived as Air India went into the lead again. Trapping a shot neatly from Devinder Kumar, Edward Aranha, hit the ball into the boards. Immediately after resumption, Edward struck again, off a pass from Kishore Kumar.

There was a sparkle in the Punjab Police attack which ended with Jaskaran Singh flicking in an aerial ball. Again, it was Air India that went up from a goal by Kishore Kumar.

Clearly lacking in vibrancy, Punjab and Sind Bank, defending the Murugappa Gold Cup, struggled to share points against a listless IHF Juniors. Neither showed the consistency or charm to raise the contest beyond the pale of mediocrity. Small wonder, the first half ended without a score, despite Punjab and Sind Bank forcing four penalty corners against the two by the rival.

Parminder Singh and Baljit Singh Chandi were prominent in the attack, which included the former Olympian, Sanjeev Kumar. For the IHF, the only hard working player was mid-fielder, Bimal Lakra, although Tejbir Singh came into the picture more often in the second half along with Deepak Thakur. But the frontline failed to present a picture of harmony what with Prabhjot Singh found wanting on the wing, and failed to take advantage of two sitters in the closing stages after Deepak had worked out the openings.

An early lead from a penalty corner by Sandeep Ghuman should have galvanised the Punjab and Sind Bank to increase the pace. But that did not happen. It was IHF Juniors that showed some sense of urgency, looking for the equaliser. A cross by Bimal Lakra put Deepak Thakur through. But goal-keeper Teja Singh obstructed the intruder, forcing umpire Alphone to show the spot. Arjun Halappa flicked in the equaliser.

Not long after came the lead for IHF Juniors, Tejbir Singh converting a penalty corner scrimmage to advantage. A win for IHF Juniors at this point was not ruled out, considering the share of the exchanges the team had. But that was not to be as Parminder Singh slotted the equaliser.

The IHF Juniors finished its programme with four points, while Punjab and Sind Bank waits to take on Bengal in the Pool A encounter.

Sunday's matches: Tamil Nadu v Indian Railways (2-30 p.m); Air India v Karnataka (4-30 p.m.).

Sarabjit Singh of Punjab Police beats Air India goalkeeper Edgar Mascarenhas for his team's goal in the MCC-Murugappa Gold Cup tournament in Chennai on Saturday. Punjab Police however, lost 2- 4.