Chandy puts ONGC in final

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

Gurwinder Singh Chandy is a busy athlete on the hockey pitch, looking to score and waiting to strike from difficult angles.

He is a dynamite inside the circle. His explosive energy created three chances and he grabbed them all in a row to set up Oil and Natural Gas Commission’s 4-2 win over Bharat Petroleum in the semifinals of the Nehru hockey tournament here on Thursday.

In the other semifinal, Punjab National Bank (PNB) overcame Air India 4-2.

It was Chandy’s day at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium. ONGC outplayed the opposition in every area but Chandy left a mark with his imposing presence.

He moved swiftly and scored skilfully as Bharat Petroleum chased his shadow inside the circle.

True, Akashdeep Singh worked hard for the first goal but Chandy’s anticipation was the key. He flicked the ball on the run as Akashdeep tapped it back.

Chandy then created space in a counter-attack and reverse flicked with an acute angle to pierce. His show was not over yet. Chandy caught the goalkeeper on the wrong foot. Three goals with half an hour to go meant ONGC could call the shots. Hari Prasad managed a goal for Bharat Petroleum.

The joy was shortlived as Diwakar Ram superbly converted a penalty corner.

Bharat Petroleum reduced the margin through Jarnail with three minutes left. ONGC, the better team, was a clear winner.

Racy encounter

Air India was outclassed by PNB in a racy encounter where Ranjit Singh (Jr) stood out for his brilliance. He worked hard and assisted his forwards and defenders with his tireless performance.

A pity he scored just one goal, the last, when he beat the defence with his electrifying run.

Damandeep Singh, Jatinder and Naveen were the other scorers for PNB. Naveen’s was the best when he put the ball in with a high angular drive. For Air India, which equalised twice, the goals came from Lalit Upadhyaya and Rahul Shilpkar.