Winners rally to beat PNB Hockey Academy 4-3

Gayatri Parameswaran. Mumbai

The Sports Authority of India (SAI) Lucknow rallied from behind to pip Punjab National Bank (PNB) Hockey Academy 4-3 and emerge champions in the All India Inter-state Academy Hockey at the Mahindra Stadium on Friday.

A match well in favour of the PNB Hockey Academy, which led 2-1 at half time, saw a complete volte-face as SAI Lucknow changed the pace and style of the game. “I think my boys gifted the initial goals of the match to the opponent. After half time, a pep-talk and shift to an attacking mode contributed to the win,” said Mohammed Raza, coach of the winning team.
Penalty corners made a crucial difference in the game with SAI Lucknow managing to convert two of them successfully into goals. Mohammed Asif, Mohammed Javed, Janardan Gupta and Jay Karan were the scorers for the winning side, while Ravinder Tewatia, Siddharth Shankar and Nitin Kumar Sharma found target for the PNB side.

Fifty-five participants have been short listed from the tournament for further training by a talent-hunting committee headed by former international players, Edgar Mascarenhas and B S Kuttappa. “India is experiencing the lowest dip in talent in this sports history. I had come here to scout for 66 players, but its sad that there arent so many of them. I had to settle for 55. You have to accept the fact,” said Mascarenhas.

In an earlier match between the losing semi-finalists, Surjit Hockey Academy (SHA) forged ahead of Punjab and Sindh (P&S) Bank to finish third.