Liberals Hockey: IAF in quarters

Indian Air Force, New Delhi, outgunned a fired-up but inexperienced Sangrur XI 2-0 to make the quarter-finals grade of the 36th Liberals All-India hockey tournament. The airmen attacked the Sangrur territory from the beginning and struck in 7th minute with lanky forward Harwant scoring with a full-blooded shot from the top of circle after being fed with an accurate pass from the left by left-out Harpreet.

The Sangrur goal had a narrow escape in the 15th minute when centre-forward Lovepreet essayed a flying shot towards the left corner of the net but goalkeeper Sandeep brought about a magnificent save, diving full length to his right. The Air Force goal also had a narrow escape in 30th minute when Ramandeep missed an easy chance hitting off the mark with only goalkeeper to beat.

The winners consolidated their lead in 39th minute through Lovepreet, who dodged past a bunch of defenders to beat goalie Sandeep with a smart push. Maintaining an upper hand, Air Force could have won with a bigger margin but poor finishing in the circle prevented any further damage to the Sangrur goal.

In another match, Sports Hostel, Lucknow were halted when seasoned Punjab Police outstroked them in the tie-breaker after the two teams were locked 1-1 in the regulation time.

Excelling in all departments of the game, Ropar Hawks inflicted a crushing 6-1 defeat on Army Ordnance Corps, Secunderabad, who had entered the tournament as a substitute for Northern Railway who failed to make it to the tournament.

Schedule: EME Jalandhar vs Air Force New Delhi (10 a.m.); Western Railway Mumbai vs Punjab Police Jalandhar (11:30 a.m.); Punjab & Sind Bank, Jalandhar, vs CRPF New Delhi 1p.m.); BSF Jalandhar vs Hawks Ropar (2:30 p.m.).