Bhopal Badshahs back in semis contention

Mohammed Sahir Khan hit the decisive goal in the fourth quarter as Bhopal Badshahs pipped Mumbai Marines 2-1 in a World Series Hockey match to keep their semifinal hopes alive.

Before this match, Bhopal (17) were in the sixth position but three points from this win pushed them to fourth position, ahead of Pune Strykers (15) and Chennai Cheetahs (16) and back in the semifinal contention.

The first quarter was seemingly going barren but Affan Yousuf (12th) put Bhopal ahead with a fantastic effort.

Positioned between the two Mumbai defenders inside the circle, Yousuf beat both of the them and then the custodian with a fierce shot to find the net.

Six minutes into the second quarter, Mumbai had a chance to equalise through a penalty corner but they could not convert it.

Instead of 1-0, the hosts could have led with a bigger margin had they not missed chances.

Bhopal got a penalty corner at the start of the third quarter but Mickey made a valuable save for Mumbai.

Ajmer Singh almost messed up Mumbai’s penalty corner when he fumbled while stopping the ball but an alert Sandeep Michael (45th) deflected a wayward going shot into the goal post to bring the match on even terms.

Khan deflected superbly a shot off penalty corner to script his team’s win.