Western, South Command enter semis

Chandigarh, June 20 (UNI) Maintenance Command and Western Air Command from Pool A and Central Air Command and South Western Air Command from Pool B qualified for semi-finals in the Air Force Hockey Championship at the Sector 42 Hockey Stadium today.

The semi-final line-up is: Maintenance Command vs Central Air Command and Western Air Command vs South Western Air Command. Both semi-finals will be played tomorrow.

Maintenance Command topped Pool A with two wins and one draw while Western Air Command were runners-up with two draws and one victory.

In Pool B, South Western Air Command maintained all-win record by beating Training Command by 4-0, Central Air Command by 1-0 and Air Headquarters by 2-1. while Central Air Command were runners-up with one win, one, draw and one defeat.

Playing their last league match, Maintenance Command blanked Southern Air Command by 6-0. Vijay (17th, 28th minutes), Dinesh (3rd), Kaushik (4th), Rajbir (22nd) and Mukul (23rd) were their main scorers.

Earlier, SWAC got the better of Air Headquarters by 2-1. It was Air Headquarters who took the lead through JJ Brush who scored a field goal in the 21st minute. Down by one goal, SWAC retaliated soon and restored parity in the 26th minute through Arun. Arun then snatched the match-winner in the 49th minute.

Training Command and Central Air Command split points after playing a 2-2 draw. Training Command squandered 2-0 lead. They were given lead by T J Harsha in the sixth minute while Samir made it 2-0 in the 50th minute. Central Air Command applied full pressure in the closing stages of the game. They scored two goals within a span of four minute. Anil Kumar (63rd) and Sequeria (67th) of Central Air Command contributed one goal each.

Western Air Command drew 3-3 with Central Air Command. WAC scored through Rakesh (40th, 50th) and Negi (2nd). Pankaj (29th) and M Singh (39th) netted one goal each and help CAC snatch one point.

UNI