Thakur’s hat-trick leads IOC to brilliant win in Aga Khan hockey
MUMBAI: Skipper Deepak Thakur led from the front scoring a hat-trick to help Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) beat Karnataka XI 4-3 in the quarterfinal match of the Aga Khan hockey tournament 2011 at the Bombay Gymkhana ground on Tuesday.
In a match of fluctuating fortunes, IOC conceded the lead thrice but fought back gallantly to pull off the win and book their place in the last four stage.
Hamza Mujthaba got the other goal for the winners. Karnataka got their goals through a penalty stroke conversion by Deepak M R and field goals from Muthana P R and Nitin Thimmaiah.
Karnataka had themselves to blame for the defeat as they missed a penalty stroke in the 60th minute and a couple of easy chances late in the game.
Deepak’s attempt was saved by Baljit Singh, who dived to his right to push the ball out.
Earlier in the afternoon, Rail Coach Factory (RCF), Kapurthala scored a well-deserved 4-2 win over Bandra Select in a first round match.
The winners enjoyed a narrow 1-0 lead at the end of the first half.
The highlight of Kapurthala’s victory was the two goals scored by Roop Singh in a space of nine minutes. Deepak and Ranjod Singh got the other two goals for the Punjab team.
Peter Fernandez and Saad Pathanwala were on target for the Bandra lads.
In another quarterfinal encounter, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) proved too good for Indian Overseas Bank (IOB), Chennai, winning by a handsome 5-0 margin to storm into the semifinal.
BPCL, leading by just a solitary goal at half-time, produced a solid combined display in the second session to run away worthy winners.
Jarnail Singh netted a brace, while Birendra Lakra, Gurpreet Singh and Amar Aiyama contributed one each to complete the rout.