Times of India: Lions score emphatic 5-3 win over Cheetahs

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CHENNAI: Karnataka Lions forward Ravipal Singh scored a hat-trick as his team registered a 5-3 win over Chennai Cheetahs in a World Series Hockey ( WSH) game at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium on Saturday.

Lions, who were reeling at the bottom with just three points from five matches, came back hard on the Cheetahs to garner three points to be placed alongside Cheetahs and Delhi Wizards in the points table.

Lions were desperate after losing four matches earlier and they wanted to prove a point on Saturday. Their regular skipper Dhanraj Pillay was rested but the veteran’s absence was not felt. Lions’ other two regulars — Amar Aiyamma and Arjun Halappa — were also rested.

Former India forward Ravipal, the fulcrum of Lions’ attack, kept troubling Cheetahs defenders from the word go and subsequently got a golden chance to draw the first blood in the 13th minute but Cheetahs custodian Jasbir Singh denied him.

Ravipal finally put the Lions ahead in the 26th minute after latching on to a mispass from Sunil Yavav and smashing home a scorching grounder. His other two goals came in the 56th and 63rd minutes.