The Hindu: ICF emerges champion

Beats Railways 2-1 in final

ICF, bolstered by new recruitments from Odisha and Haryana, put in a commanding performance to beat Southern Railways 2-1 in the final of the Indian Bank Trophy State-level hockey tournament on Wednesday.

There was a touch of assurance in the way ICF played, especially in the first half. Railway, too, wasn’t far behind and was equally effective on counters. However, it was the former that took the chances that came its way. Deepak opened the account, scoring off a penalty corner. The lead was doubled when Alok Barla struck home off a cross from Anand Kujur on the right.

Once Railways reduced the margin through Nambi Ganesh’s fierce shot off a rebound from ’keeper Udayakumar, off a penalty corner, the contest gathered momentum. But many of the crosses couldn’t be trapped properly by the forwards, spoiling Railways’ chances.

The results: Final: ICF 2 (Deepak 26, Alok Barla 29) bt S. Rly 1 (Nambi Ganesh 49); Third place: Vadipatti Raja 5 (Navin Kumar, Punith, Pavan, Thamaiah, Syed Basha) bt IOB 3 (Vinod Rayer 29, Cariappa, S.N. Sridhar), via shoot-out. 1-1 at regulation time.