NEHRU HOCKEY FINAL ONGC down gritty PNB

Grit and belief are often the guiding forces for athletes, and Oil and Natural Gas Commission XI displayed just those qualities as they edged past Punjab National Bank XI 1-0 in the final of the 40th Nehru senior men’s hockey tournament here on Friday.

Last year’s runners-up ONGC had gone from strength to strength in the tournament, outwitting big guns Indian Oil and Bharat Petroleum, en route to the final. And they continued in the same vein when it mattered the most.

The teams were evenly matched in the opening ten minutes before ONGC came into their element and broke free. India internationals Gurvinder Singh Chandi and Mandip Antil combined well upfront, while defender Baljinder Singh played his heart out for the winners.

Bikash Toppo scored the only goal of the match in the 25th minute -fed after a combined effort from Chandi and Antil, Toppo deflected the ball in past PNB ‘keeper Jasbir Singh.

The second half was a different story. Play was restricted to the ONGC half, with PNB attacking with all their might. The team had at least 15 shots on goal, but the finish was found wanting each time.
Penalty corners -all five coming in the second half -were also wasted.

For ONGC, goalkeeper Kamaldeep Singh came up with brilliant saves, padding away everything with precision. “It was a great win. Two of our players were injured during the second half, and we were forced to play withdrawn. The team did very well to withstand the pressure,“ said ONGC manager-cum-coach Rajdeep Singh.

Earlier, Air India rode on strikes from Birender Lakra and V.S. Vinaya to beat Bharat Petroleum in the third place play-off.

SHASTRI HOCKEY FROM TODAY

Nehru finalists ONGC and PNB will lock horns yet again on Saturday, as they kick off the all-India Lal Bahadur Shastri tournament here on Saturday.

The event will see eight teams, including Air India and Indian Oil, vie for top honours over the next seven days.