Namdhari end IHF team's run, BPCL beat Rlys to enter semis

Chennai, Dec 22 (UNI) Amid high drama, Namdhari XI, Ludhiana and BPCL XI, Mumbai, entered the semi finals of the of the 83rd All India MCC-Murugappa Gold Cup Hockey tournament here tonight.

While Namdhari overcame a tenacious IHF Development Team XI 2-1, thanks to a golden goal by Gurpreet Singh, amid mounting tension, BPCL derailed Indian Railways by a similar margin. Raju opened the lead for Railways and BPCL emerged winner through two penalty stroke conversions by Prabhdeep Singh.

What started as a one-sided affair, in which Namdhari held sway over the proceedings in the first half, turned out to be a humdinger of a contest the moment the IHF XI found the equaliser.

The hard working Gurvinder Singh was the livewire in the Namdhari attack and he posed a lot of problems for the IHF defence. After Gurvinder's drag flick was baulked by Mrinal Choubey, Namdhari got the lead through Karamjit Singh in the 18th minute when he deflected a free hit by Gurpreet singh.

Unperturbed by the reverse, the young IHF team looked a determined lot. The spring was back in their feet and the equalizer, two minutes into the second half, enlivened the proceedings. Right winger Sanwar Ali did the spade work with a solo run down the left and medio S V Sunil provided the finishing touches with a superb deflection.

IHF had the better of exchanges in the second half, though the defence looked susceptible especially when Namdhari attacked in waves. But the team from Ludhiana missed chances time and again despite forcing a series of penalty corners.

There was an element of drama after referee Sanjay Bordae disallowed a goal for IHF when Sanwar deflected home off a pass from Sunil. Infact, the referee first awarded the goal, leading to protests by Namdhari, which claimed that the ball was carried.

After consulting the other referee Pranaam Singh, Sanjay reversed his decision and disallowed the goal, triggering protests from the sparse gathering. After a brief hold up, the contest resumed and both the teams fought hard for the matchwinner.

When the contest meandered into extra time, Namdhari had the last laugh when Gurpreet Singh came up with a drag flick in the fourth minute to seal the fate of the IHF team.

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