SUPER DIVISION LEAGUE
Brilliant Army Red outclass Namdharis
Bangalore: Army Red drubbed Namdhari XI 3-0 in the second phase of the Super Division hockey league at the SAI South Centre here on Sunday.
Army Red played with relish, capitalising on their strengths and finding every chink in the Namdhari team to exploit as they notched a fine victory.
Arumugam found the net three minutes before the break to give the Army team the lead.
In the 40th minute, Chitaranjan doubled their joy with a fine strike. There were signs of a fightback by the Namdharis but a goal by skipper Ignace Tirkey in the 60th minute was enough to shut out all chances the Bidadi team had of making a match of it.
The other match between Army Green and Army Service Corps was on razor’s edge until the 61st minute when ASC found the equaliser to troop out on equal terms at 2-2.
Karthik AN put Army Green ahead in the 10th minute but Balraj Singh was quick enough to restore parity a minute later for ASC. Preetham Choudhary made it 2-1 for Army Green in the 59th minute but Deepu was on target in the 61st to help ASC share points with their rivals.
Medical help
The Karnataka State Hockey Association (KSHA) has finally woken up to the dangers of running a league without a doctor or proper medical facility.
On Saturday, the association sought the help of Dr Thomas Chandy of Hosmat and he responded well, assigning an orthopaedist and a physio along with an ambulance for the tournament.
“We are thankful to Dr Chandy,” KSHA secretary K Krishnamurthy told TOI. “In fact, we have two ambulances now. SAI too have spared their vehicle for our use.”
On Friday, the absence of medical help saw Indian Oil’s Rupinderpal Singh spend several moments on the pitch in pain after he was brought down by a penalty corner hit.
He was later shifted to a hospital but the KSHA came in for flak for running a league without basic facilities.