HI Juniors ‘A’ to play PNB in final
LUCKNOW: A good match practice on home turf ahead of a big international event is the best way for any team to prepare well as this is the stage where one can try all the variations and rectify errors.
This formula seems perfect for the Junior India side before the Sultan of Johor Cup at Malaysia later this month as they are growing in their performance while playing at the prestigious 37th All-India KD Singh ‘Babu’ hockey tournament here.
On Tuesday, Vivek Sagar Prasad-led Hockey India Junior ‘A’ didn’t let the opportunity go out of their hands, and outplayed favourites Sports Authority of India, Lucknow 3-1 to set up a title clash with experienced side Punjab National Bank, which had a convincing 4-1 win against Indian Air Force in other semi-final of the day.
The final match will be played at 3.30 pm on Wednesday.
“It has been good for the side ahead of the Malaysia event, and five-match practice ahead of the big event is a perfect preparation,” Hockey India’s selector RP Singh said after the match.
The tie between HI Juniors and SAI looked like a rehearsal of final as even after trailing by 0-3, SAI men didn’t lose focus and shot back one in the second half to pose some threat to HI.
Had the frontline men Uttam Singh and Rajkumar Pal not missed opportunities, the final verdict of the encounter could have been different.
Though HI Juniors also missed many an open net chances in the 70-minute duel at the Padmashree Mohd Shahid stadium, their success rate in converting the opportunities into goal remained better than SAI men. Shilananand Lakra drew first blood in the very first minute (1-0) before Harmanjit Singh (26th) and Sanjay (35th) striking the remaining two goals to take the score to 3-0 at break. Mithlesh Kumar shot one back for SAI in the 60th minute.
Earlier, both PNB and IAF were locked at one-all at the lemon break with Gagandeep Singh (Jr) and Damanjit Singh scoring a goal each for either side. After a change in the ends, it was PNB all over as Sukhjit Singh slammed the second one before Gagandeep Singh (Jr) netting back-to-back goals to complete the formality.