Times of India: Dashmesh hockey: ITBP, Jalandhar XI reach last four

CHANDIGARH: Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) edged past Northern Railways 2-1 to enter the semifinals of the 28th Dasmesh Hawks All-India Hockey Tournament being held at the Hawks Stadium in Ropar.

It was Northern Railways which took the lead in the 29th minute of the play. Amandeep Singh converted a penalty corner to put his team ahead.

Northern Railways were leading 1-0 at half-time. Their lead was short-lived as ITBP soon equalised in the 46th minute. It was MC Mittai who kept the team’s hopes alive with a superb field goal. Three minutes later, Harvinder rose to the occasion and sounded the board to help the team take the lead. ITBP held on to the lead to eke out a 2-1 win.

In another quarterfinal match, Signals outplayed Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) 4-1. Signals deservedly took the lead in the 14th minute through G Das.

The celebrations had barely died down when Signal once again sounded the board to swell the lead to 2-0. S Kaitha was the scorer.

G Das was once again on the scoresheet in the 22nd minute of the play to help the team take a 3-0 lead.
In the second-half, Signals consolidated their lead when KS Rana successfully converted a penalty corner in the 46th minute.

CRPF finally managed to reduce the margin through Bikash Kujurh who scored a field goal in the 68th minute.
Meanwhile, Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (EME) scraped past Punjab Police 1-0 to reach last four. It was Biju Singh who scored the all-important goal in the 33rd minute of the play. Despite their best efforts, Punjab Police failed to score the equalising goal.

In the last quarterfinal match, Jalandhar XI overcame Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), Amritsar by 2-1.

SGPC took the lead when Harsukh Singh converted a penalty corner in the sixth minute. However, Jalandhar XI scored through Mandeep Singh three minutes later to draw level at 1-1. Mandeep was once again on the scoresheet and helped the team take a 2-1 lead. Jalandhar XI held on to the slender lead and carved out a hard-fought win.