Sports Authority of India (SAI) and Steel Plants Sports Board entered the quarterfinals from their respective pools after recording contrasting results in the 4th Hockey India Senior Men Inter-Department National Championship here on Tuesday.
On a day of do-or-die battles for qualifications, SAI beat Central Board of Direct Taxes (CDT) 5-1 to claim second spot in Pool A with 9 points behind Petroleum Sports Promotion Board who topped the pool.
Lalit Negi (6th), Neeraj (28th), Pankaj (38th – p.s, 53rd – p.c) and Rajat Minz (54th) scored for SAI. CDT reduced the margin through a Nachappa Ir (44th) strike. Steel Plants Sports Board made it in second position from Pool B after Dena Bank dramatically struck in the final minute to draw the game 3-3. Pradhan Somanna Pudiyokkada Somaiah converted a penalty corner to help Dena Bank earn a point.
Earlier, Chandanda Aiyanna Nikkin Thimmaiah (4th); Somanna Km (33rd) scored for Dena Bank. For the Steel Plants Sports Board, it was Dilbar Barla (5st); Bara Rabi (53rd) and Abdul Qadir (55th) who scored. As a result, Steel Plants Board finished with 7 points (4 matches) and qualified for the knockouts.
Pool B had a thrilling finish as the already-qualified Railway Sports Promotion Board faced a tough challenge from All India Police Sports Control Board (AIPSCB). RSPB staged a fightback from a 2-3 deficit to win 4-3. RSPB ended up unbeaten in Pool B.
RSPB scored through Parampreet Singh (4th – p.c), Yuvraj Walmiki (21st), Darshan Vibhav Gawkar (54th) and Simranjot Singh (56th). Varinder Singh (37th – p.c; 45th) and Haris Mohammad (11th – p.c) struck for the police team. The loss impacted AIPSCB (6) who missed to qualify after finishing third behind Steel Plants Board (7) by a point.