MIXED DAY FOR SDAT

Chennai,

DOWN by two goals inside the opening 10 minutes against St Paul’s RC, Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu fought back to draw 2-2 in the first division hockey league at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium on Wednesday. Incidentally, all the goals came in the first half.

In the fourth minute, Amuruth’s goal helped St Paul’s take lead, which was augmented in the 10th minute as Kumaresan converted a penalty corner in the 10th minute. But their lead was short-lived as SDAT’s Sudharshan reduced the margin in the 20th minute, while Arun Anandhan equalised in the 34th.

However, SDAT ran out of luck against Friends Hockey Club, which won 3-1. Friends took lead in the eighth minute through Pachayappan’s goal, SDAT got the equaliser five minutes later. But that was all they could do against a better-organised opponent. Soon after halftime, Friends scored two goals in three minutes to shut the game. Results: St Paul’s RC 2 (Amuruth 4th, Kumaresan 10th) drew with SDAT 2 (Sudharsan 20th, Arul Anandhan 34th), Friends RC 3 (Pachayappan 8th, Ravichandran 38th, Yuvaraj 41st) bt SDAT 1 (Jai Singh Cabrial 13th).