Punjab and Sind Bank in last four

KOLKATA: Punjab and Sind Bank (PSB) moved into the semifinals of the 113th all-India Beighton Cup hockey tournament at SAI ground here on Sunday.

Riding on Rajbinder Singh’s four-goal burst, PSB defeated East Coast Railways 5-3 in its second pool A quarterfinal league. The other contender for a last four berth from the pool, Punjab Police made short work of Tamil Nadu XI by a brace of goals.

TN XI, having lost two consecutive matches, made its exit from the championship.

In a pool B league, Punjab Sports Club edged past CESC by a solitary first half goal.

Rajbinder triggered the PSB run glut with two quick strikes in the fourth and sixth minutes. The Railway outfit hit back with a goal from Xaverian Barla in the 12th minute. Before going for the halftime, PSB ensured it had a two-goal cushion when Sarabjit Singh made no mistake off a penalty corner in the 31st minute.

Another Rajbinder goal in the 45th minute took the match away from E.C. Railway. Though Amjad Khan scored in the 50th minute, Rajbinder’s fourth strike in the 65th minute was enough for the bankmen to ensure a victory.

A minute before the final whistle the railway team scored its third goal through L. Kumar. But by then it was too late to change the course of the game.

Amit Singh’s 16th minute field goal and Jograj Singh’s 59th minute penalty corner goal ensured PP had the measure of TN XI in a game well controlled by the Punjab policemen.