Ludhiana, July 6
Namdhari XI and Punjab Police, Ludhiana, prevailed over their opponents Doraha Club 2-1 and B Baker Club 1-0 respectively, to secure their berths in the semifinals of the First Alankar Tony Memorial Gold Cup six-a side Hockey Tournament being organised by the Aryan Hockey Club at the astroturf ground of Punjab Agricultural University here today. Gurnam Club scraped past Speed Fund Academy, Ludhiana 2-1 while the Master Club trounced the Sonu Ghuman Club 3-0 to complete the semifinal line-up.
In a well contested affair, Namdhari XI earned the lead in the seventh minute of the second half when Gurvinder Singh found the target. Two minutes later, Olympian Didar Singh gave a parallel pass to Amolakh Singh near the danger zone who made no mistake and translated the chance into a goal to consolidate the lead (2-0).
With three minutes to go for the long hooter, Sukhjit Singh of Doraha Club in a solo effort scored a superb goal to reduce the margin 2-1.
The match between Punjab Police, Ludhiana and the B Baker Club was also an absorbing contest in which the former’s goalkeeper Harbans Singh gave an outstanding performance and thwarted many scoring attempts made by B Baker Club’s players.
The local cops went into an early lead (fifth minute) through Rajinder Singh and they managed to hang onto it till the long whistle and wrap up the issue 1-0.
In the third match, Pargat Singh scored a hat-trick as the Master Club blanked Sonu Ghuman Club 3-0. Pargat struck in the 11th, 20th and then in the 29th minute to complete the rout.
In the last league fixture, the Speed Fund Academy, Ludhiana, fought it tooth and nail before going down 1-2 against the Gurnam Club.
After the first barren half, the Gurnam Club surged ahead in the third minute of the second half through Sardar Singh. Sher Singh added another goal to make it 2-0 and in the dying minutes of the match, Roop Singh of the Speed Fund Academy succeeded in rolling the ball into the net making the score 2-1.
In the semifinals, to be played tomorrow morning, Namdhari XI will take on the Gurnam Club and Punjab Police, Ludhiana will clash with the Master Club. The final will also be held on Sunday at 5 p.m. Dr K S Aulakh, Vice Chancellor, PAU, will be the chief guest at the prize distribution function and Mr S K Prabhakar, Senior Manager, State Bank of India will be the guest of honour.
