Orissa, Karnataka enter semifinals

Bangalore, Jan 10 (UNI) Orissa and hosts Karnataka entered the semifinals from Group 'C' and 'A' respectively in the fifth All India BSNL Hockey tournament, played at KSHA ground here today.

In a keenly contested match, Orissa defeated Andhra Pradesh 3-2.

Though Andhra Pradesh lads opened their account with B Sreenivas brilliantly netting the ball in the 13th minute, Narayana Mohanty of Orissa scored the equaliser within a couple of minutes. Regrouping themselves, Andhra took the lead with Narayana Rao scoring in the 17th minute. However, Orissa strikers Gladson Tirkey and Marshal Surein scored in the 29th minute and 48th minute respectively to ensure that their team entered the last four stage.

In an one-sided match, defending champions Karnataka handed out a humiliating defeat to MTNL, New Delhi, 7-0. While R B Vinod and Praful Kujur scored a double each, M A Vinod Chengappa, Mohd Nazeema Bepari and S Kabilan scored a goal each.

In Group 'B' league, Jammu and Kashmir defeated Maharashtra 4-1, with H S Reen and Niranjan Singh scoring double each. The lone goal for the losers was scored by Uttan Singh Duhan.

In Group 'C' match, Punjab trounced Gujarat 5-0. Ravinder Singh and Harinder Lal scored twice each, while Kulwinder Manght scored once.

UNI