On a balmy evening at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium here on Thursday, matches didn’t rise to expected levels, with Indian Railways and Indian Navy scripting dour wins over their opponents in the MCC-Murugappa Gold Cup 92nd All-India hockey tournament.
Railways, champion in 2016, played well below its best in beating Mumbai Hockey Association (MHA) 2-1 in a Group A contest, while in a battle of debutants earlier, Navy beat Chennai Hockey Association (CHA) 3-1 in Group B.
As was expected, Railways started aggressively by making quick inroads into the Mumbai territory, which struggled to keep the rival’s forward-line at bay. But the domination lasted only for a while.
The first goal was a clear example of the former champion’s intention. Pardeep Singh’s stinging pass from the right saw the goalkeeper stretch his pad and the resultant rebound witnessed Kunwar Dilraj Singh unleash a stinging shot straight into the roof.
Inexplicably, Railways slowed down but its defence didn’t allow any room for MHA.
MHA, which didn’t appear threatening till then, scored a stunning equaliser in the 41st minute. With two defenders literally covering him and the Railways’ keeper Mujahid Khan covering the angle, Victo Singh unleashed a backhander from the left that beat Mujahid all ends up.
Railways controlled the show pretty much and it got the winner from Ajmer Singh. A current senior international, Nilakanta Sharma's drive on-the-run from the edge of the circle was deflected well by Ajmer.
CHA impressed in patches and played better in the first half but scoring both its goals in the second. Trailing 1-0, Veera Thamizhan struck with a brilliant backhander. Navy made it 3-1 in pretty quick time, and the last goal by Shyam Kumar failed to make any impact.
The results: Group A: Indian Railways 2 (Kunwar Dilraj Singh 15, Ajmer Singh 62) bt MHA 1 (Victo Singh 41). Group B: Indian Navy 3 (Rajat Sharma 28, Rana Pratap 56, Kuldeep Singh 63) bt CHA 2 (Veera Thamizhan 44, Shyam Kumar 68) .
