Mumbai, Dec 2:
Drag-flicker Gaganpreet Singh rifled in five penalty corner goals to power Punjab and Sind Bank (PSB), Delhi to a facile 7-1 win over Hockey Karnataka, Bengaluru in the concluding Pool A league match of the 51st All India Bombay Gold Cup Hockey Tournament here today.
The other two goals for the Punjab bankers came through Karanbir Singh and skipper Sarvanjit Singh. Vinayak Bijwad netted the lone goal for the Bengaluru outfit.
The big margin of victory also helped PSB earn a berth in the quarter-final with South Central Railway from this pool after all the three teams – South Central, PSB and Hockey Karnataka – ended with three points each.
The first two qualified on basis of better goal difference.
Earlier in the day, former champions Indian Oil, Mumbai, rode on a double strike by Prabhjot Singh and a goal each from fellow-Olympians Deepak Thakur V R Raghunath to fight back from a 0-2 deficit and overcome another Mumbai outfit, Central Railway by 4-2 in a Pool B league match.
Central made a positive start with forward Mohammed Nizamuddin scoring the first goal in the ninth minute and Victo Singh adding the second, two minutes later.
However, Raghunath, who arrived early this morning from Australia after doing duty for India, converted from a penalty corner in the 16th minute to trigger Indian Oil’s fight back.
Later, skipper Thakur scored the equaliser with a deft touch from close in the 50th minute. Prabhjot then slammed in two goals in a span of eight minutes (57th and 65th minutes) to knock the fight out of the railwaymen.
Indian Oil, with two wins, finished first in the pool ahead of Central and both qualified for the quarter-finals.
The oilmen would clash with PSB and Central will meet South Central in the quarter-finals on Sunday after tomorrow’s quarter-final clashes featuring Indian Navy against CAG and Western Railway against Punjab National Bank. (PTI)
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