Damandeep Singh nets hat-trick in PNB’s title win
LUCKNOW: Experienced Damandeep Singh put his best foot forward, striking his maiden hat-trick as spirited Delhi’s outfits Punjab National Bank lifted the glittering trophy of the 35th All-India KD Singh ‘Babu’ Hockey Tournament, outclassing Punjab and Sindh Bank 3-2 in a thriller here on Wednesday.
Damandeep not only brought PNB back into the game after being downed by a solitary goal, but went on striking two more goals, including the match-winner in the dying minutes to help side fetch the biggest purse of Rs 2 lakh, PSB got Rs 1 lakh, whereas Indian Air Force (IAF), which finished third, beating SAI Lucknow 3-1 received Rs 50,000.
A large number of bankers from the two sides had turned up in a huge number at the Major Dhyanchand Stadium and even before t he f ans could settle into their chairs, Gaganpreet Singh converted team’s first penalty corner in the 10th minute to put PSB into lead (1-0).
Minutes before break, Damandeep Singh struck the equaliser in the 27th minute. On a penalty corner opportunity, captain Satpal Gulia’s shot bounced back after hitting PSB’s custodian Guriqbal Singh’s pad and a well-placed Damandeep made no mistake in pushing the ball home (1-all).
Though PSB men continued to attack the rivals by making some quick moves into the penalty circle, PNB’s goalkeeper Jasbir Singh kept thwarting their attacks. This, however, helped Damandeep extending the team’s lead to 2-1, striking a field goal from the right flank in the 40th minute.
With time-machine clocking its way towards an end, PSB men fired all cylinders for an equaliser. However, they could get it executed only in the 63rd minute when Gaganpreet Singh netted his second goal, once again converting a penalty corner (2-all).
The struggle of the two sides didn’t stop here as the two sides raised their attacks, especially PNB, and they received rich dividends for their efforts when Damandeep struck his second field goal in the 67th minute not only to complete his hat-trick, but anchoring team’s fascinating win (3-2).
Much to the surprise of Indian Air Force (IAF), SAI Lucknow forged into lead in the 19th minute through Sonu Kumar (1-0). But after a change in the ends, IAF men went on scoring three goals through Damanjit (39th), Sanwar (42nd) and Lovepreet (59th) to complete the rout. NEW CHANGES There were many changes in this year’s tourney here. Not only the major Dhyanchand Stadium was upgraded with new blue turf and other facilities required for this, but the prize money of the state government’s prestigious event was doubled up. It was a long pending demand.
The biggest change was the rescheduling of the event from the next time itself. For the last many years this has been happening in March, resulting in low participation of top teams as many such events take place this time across the country. But on Wednesday, the UP Sports Directorate rescheduled the event for November 3 to 12.
“Hockey India has fixed the tournament’s schedule in November forever. Now, we can hope to see the participation of top teams and top players from the next time,” UP’s director sports RP Singh said later.