Hat-trick by Preetham

Bangalore: Preetham Chougule’s hat-trick triggered a fantastic come-from-behind 4-3 win for Belgaum District over East India HC in a State ‘C’ division hockey league encounter at the KSHA stadium here on Wednesday.

East India took control of the match after strikes by Mohan (35th) and Tareen (42nd and 44th). But the Belgaum outfit fought back and Preetham scored three-in-a-row in the 45th, 49th and 56th minutes to draw level before Shavaz Naik netted the match-winner in the 58th minute.

In other matches Rangers HC blanked Friends XI 5-0 with Samson (2), Nanda (2) and Jerrad scoring, while Young Stars (Hubli) downed Metro HC 5-2. Praveen (2), D. Ramu, Sridharan and Raghu notched up the goals for Hubli side, while Amogh Devaiah and Punith scored for the loser.