CHANDIGARH: Indian Oil and Namdhari XI shared the title in the Jindal Steel Nehru hockey tournament as the two teams were locked 1-1 at the end of the regulation period and extra-time, and decided to avoid a decisive climax after extending the tie-break to 10-10, in the final at the Sector-42 Stadium here on Wednesday.

In front of ‘live’ national television and a big crowd of enthusiasts, the captains of the two teams agreed to share the trophy, after the two teams scored and missed the penalties in identical fashion in bringing about a draw after 30 shots in the tie-break.

Gaurav Tokki had put the Indian Oil team in the lead in the 39th minute, and Namdhari XI responded with an equaliser through Gurmeet Singh who converted a penalty stroke, three minutes later.

The ‘golden goal’ period of 15 minutes extra time also did not prove decisive, leading to the marathon tie-break.

The teams were presented Rs.1.5 lakh each, and Namdhari XI won the toss to keep the trophy for the first six months.

In the match for the third place, Army XI defeated Punjab National Bank 4-1, as Sunil Ekka (2), Chittaranjan Singh and Eliazer Lakra scored the goals. Satpal had equalised for the bank team early on, but the team was unable to respond to the challenger thereafter.

The Director General of Punjab Police, P. S. Gill, presented the prizes. — Sports Reporter