The Hindu: High-five for Gaganpreet’s PSB

Drag-flicker Gaganpreet Singh’s supreme penalty corner conversion skills powered Punjab and Sind Bank (PSB), Delhi, to a mammoth 7-1 win against Hockey Karnataka, Bengaluru, in the concluding Pool A league match of the 51st all-India Bombay Gold Cup hockey tournament at the MHAL-Mahindra Stadium on Wednesday.

The win also ensured a knockout berth for the bankers.

Gaganpreet starred with five goals — all from the set piece — to steer PSB, Delhi, home in the tournament sponsored by Union Bank of India and IDBI Bank.

The other two goals for the Punjab bankers came through Karanbir Singh and skipper Sarvanjit Singh.

Vinayak Bijwad netted the lone goal for the Bengaluru outfit.

The big margin of victory resulted in PSB entering the quarterfinals along with South Central Railway from its pool. All the three teams in the pool — South Central Railway, PSB and Hockey Karnataka — ended with three points each.

South Central Railway with topped the pool due to superior goal difference, while PSB finished with a better goal difference than Hockey Karnakata.

Earlier in the day, former champions Indian Oil, Mumbai, riding on the brilliance of Olympians Prabhjot Singh, Deepak Thakur and V.R. Raghunath, recovered from a two-goal deficit to overcome Central Railway 4-2 in a Pool B league match.

The results: Pool B: Indian Oil 4 (V.R. Raghunath 16, Deepak Thakur 50, Prabhjot Singh 57, 68) bt Central Railway 2 (Mohammed Nizamuddin 9, Victo Singh 11).

Pool A: Punjab & Sind Bank 7 (Gaganpreet Singh 7, 41, 44, 53, 61, Karanbir Singh 41, Sarvanjit Singh 65) bt Hockey Karnataka 1 (Vinayak Bijwad 47).