Central Railway, Mumbai struck a late equalizing third goal to snatch an exciting 3-3 draw with Air India, Delhi in a Group-A league match of the 14th All India Guru Tegh Bahadur Gold Cup hockey tournament and played at the MHAL-Mahindra Stadium, Churchgate on Tuesday.
The Mumbai outfit Central against the run of play took the lead when Deepak Lakra scored a field goal in the 26th minute, but Air India, who are making a comeback after one year gap, quickly restored parity through their seasoned forward Shivender Singh who also scored from a field goal in the 28th minute.
In the second half, Shivender neatly got a perfect deflection from an indirect penalty corner drill in the 42nd minute to put Air India in the lead. Central’s midfielder picked up a rebound and fired home the second goal in the 54th minute to put his team on level terms. Air India once again took the lead when Arjun Sharma with a field effort scored the third goal in the 61st minute.
The determined railwaymen earned a penalty corner on the stroke of the full time hooter and were awarded two more penalty corners in succession and Harmeet Singh managed to convert from the third one to help Central salvage a draw.
In another match of the same group played earlier, Punjab National Bank (PNB), Delhi charged to a 3-1 win against Union Bank of India (UBI), Mumbai. Gagandeep Singh from a field effort scored the first goal for PNB in the very sixth minute, but UBI fought back and drew level when Harjit Singh converted a penalty stroke a minute before half-time.
The bankers from Delhi scored twice in the second period through Naveen Antil (46th minute) and Sukhjit Singh (56th minute) to secure their win and the full three points.
Earlier in a Group-B match played in the morning, Indian Navy scored twice in the second half as they rallied to overcome last year’s joint champions South Central Railway 2-1.
In Group-B matches on Wednesday, South Central Railway meets Hockey Bhopal in a Group-B match at 2.30 pm and later Central Secretariat takes on Indian Navy at 4.15 pm.
Results – Group-A: Central Railway, Mumbai 3 (Deepak Lakra 26th, Victo Singh 54th, Harmeet Singh 70+) drew with Air India, Delhi 3 (Shivender Singh 28th, 42nd, Arjun Sharma 61st).
Punjab National Bank, Delhi 3 (Gagandeep Singh 6th, Naveen Antil 46th, Sukhjit Singh 56th) beat Union Bank of India, Mumbai 1 (Harjit Singh 34th).
Group-B: Indian Navy, Mumbai 2 (Rajat Sharma 45th, Sanjit Toppo 50th) beat South Central Railway, Secundrabad 1 (Feroz Bin Faraz 14th)