Mumbai fall short, Lancers win title
CHANDIGARH:LAST year’s finalists Kalinga Lancers made amends to lift their maiden title in the Hockey India League, defeating Dabang Mumbai 4-1 in the final on Sunday.
Dabang Mumbai, who topped the table at the end of the league stage, could not find their best as Kalinga Lancers emerged victorious to claim the purse of ₹2.5 crore. The runners-up received ₹ 1.25 crore.
The Bhubaneswar-based Lancers ruled the pitch with excellent display of skills and team work, and also bagged the ‘fair play trophy’.
Kalinga Lancers skipper Moritz Fuerste of Germany, who has won three Olympic medals, converted two penalty corners and the team’s Australian import Glenn Turner scored a field goal to seal the issue. A field goal gets two points.
Fuerste and Turner also finished as the league’s joint highest scorers with 12 goals each in as many matches.
After the first quarter was goalless, Turner opened the account in the 18th minute, deflecting a shot from the right of the striking circle. Fuerste converted a drag flick in the 29th minute to extend the score to 3-0.
Dabang Mumbai pulled one back through Affan Yousuf’s penalty corner conversion in the 33rd minute (1-3).
They raised hopes of making a comeback in the dying minutes of the match when the umpire awarded a field goal and the scoreboard displayed 3-3.
But celebrations were shortlived as the goal was disallowed after Kalinga sought a video referral. Kalinga skipper Fuerste then converted another penalty corner in the last minute to seal the match.
Mumbai’s Harmanpreet Singh, who was part of the Junior World Cup winning squad and was among the nominees for the FIH Rising Star of the Year category, bagged the award for emerging player of the league, which carries a cash award of ₹20 lakh.
KYRGIOS ON COURSE TO MARSEILLE TITLE
MARSEILLE: Nick Kyrgios kept on course to defend his Marseille Open title with a 6-3, 6-3 quarterfinal victory over Slovak qualifier Norbert Gombos on Friday.
But he will have to overcome two home players if he is to retain his crown. The 21-year-old Australian fired down 15 aces and lost just six points on serve in a ruthless display that lasted less than an hour.
In Saturday’s semifinal he will face Frenchman Jo-wilfried Tsonga, who thumped compa triot Gilles Simon 6-4, 6-1.