Central Secretariat, Canara Bank, Punjab National Bank and Bengaluru Hockey Association won their respective matches to qualify for the semifinals of the 8th Hockey India Senior Men National Championship 2018 (B Division), here on Wednesday.
In the first quarterfinal, Pool A toppers Central Secretariat squared up against Pool H winners Hockey Coorg in a highly even contest. It was Central Secretariat who utilised their chances to effect as they scored three goals from penalty corners within the first two quarters to take a promising 3-0 lead in the match. But Hockey Coorg did not let the match slip away as they came back in the third quarter to convert two penalty corners in eight minutes to cut short Central Secretariat’s lead to 3-2.
However, it was Central Secretariat who kept their nerves and added a fourth goal in the 53rd minute to snatch a 4-2 win and make their way to the Semifinal. Thimmanna S Puliyanda’s hat-trick (7′, 20′, 25′) and Shankar Patil’s goal (53′) contributed to Central Secretariat’s four goals while Rahul R Lokhande (37′, 45′) scored a brace for Hockey Coorg.
The second quarterfinal of the competition saw Canara Bank defeat Delhi Hockey with a scoreline of 4-1. The victors showed a strong attacking display from the start and were rewarded for it when they scored in the 19th minute through Nikkin Thimmaiah who converted a penalty corner. Thimmaiah found the back of the net again in the 25th minute as he finished off a field goal. Canara Bank continued to dominate even after the half-time break as they scored two quick-fire goals in the 32nd and 34th minutes to take a huge 4-0 lead with Rathan Muthanna Vokkaliga and Moses Pullanthara being the respective scorers. Delhi Hockey tried to put up a fight and were rewarded with a consolation goal in the 48th minute through Amit.
Punjab National Bank scored an impressive 6-2 victory over Food Corporation of India in the third quarterfinal of the tournament. It was a very balanced first quarter between the two teams, and the pattern continued in the second quarter but it was Punjab National Bank who popped up with a goal at the stroke of the half-time whistle when they converted a penalty corner through Gagandeep Singh to take a 1-0 lead. However, Food Corporation of India looked for the equalizer after the restart and scored just six minutes into the third quarter when Harmandeep Singh scored for his team to make it 1-1. But Punjab National Bank struck five more goals in the last two quarters to wrap up an impressive 6-2 win. Goals for Punjab National Bank were scored by Gagandeep Singh (30′, 38′, 43′, 58′), Sanjay (51′) and captain Gagandeep Singh Sr (58′) while Harmandeep Singh (36′) and Munish Rana (53′) scored for Food Corporation of India.
In the last quarterfinal, it was Bengaluru Hockey Association who came from a goal down to beat Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu 2-1. It was a match of two halves as Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu dominated the first two quarters which saw them score a goal in the 24th minute when G Saravanakumar found the back of the net to give his side an important 1-0 lead. However, after no goal was scored by either team in the third quarter, Bengaluru Hockey Association pulled up their socks in the last quarter to score two goals in two minutes to clinch the victory after having trailed in majority of the match. The two goals for Bengaluru Hockey Association were scored by HT Ramesh and Manikanth Bejawad in the 48th and 49th minutes respectively.
Semifinal line-up of the 8th Hockey India Senior Men National Championship 2018 (B Division):
SF 1: 19th January, 2018 0730hrs – Central Secretariat vs Canara Bank
SF 2: 19th January, 2018 1500hrs – Punjab National Bank vs Bengaluru Hockey Association