BENGALURU: Railway Sports Promotion Board beat Punjab National Bank 4-3 and Petroleum Sports Promotion Board outplayed Sports Authority of India 9-2 in the semi-finals of the 1st Hockey India Senior Men Inter-Department National Championship here today.
In the first semi-final match, Punjab National Bank faced off against Railway Sports Promotion Board in a classic thriller. The two teams started brilliantly in the defence but Abhishek managed to get the first goal in the 19th minute of the match.
Punjab National Bank's lead lasted only a minute as Pardeep Singh scored the equaliser in the 20th minute. Amit Rohidas then gave Railway Sports Promotion Board the lead, scoring the 2nd goal for his team in the 32nd minute. Hira Singh further extended the lead, scoring the third goal in the 35th minute. Abhishek scored the 2nd goal for Punjab National Bank in the 40th minute to close the gap, but Ajmer Singh scored the 4th goal in the 50th minute for Railway Sports Promotion Board.
Gursimran Singh closed the gap again, scoring the third goal in the 54th minute but Railway Sports Promotion Board managed to hold the fort in the final few minutes and won the match 4-3 to reach the finals.
In the second semi-final of the day, Petroleum Sports Promotion Board competed against Sports Authority Of India in an exciting match. Sunil Yadav opened the scoring of the match in the 7th minute, and Talwinder Singh doubled the lead in the 10th minute. Chetan Mallappa Karisiri managed to get a goal back for Sports Authority Of India in the 16th minute, but Abharan Sudev B scored the third goal and Yousuf Affan scored the fourth goal in the 22nd minute to give Petroleum Sports Promotion Board a lead of 4-1 by the end of first half. Armaan Qureshi scored back-to-back goals in the 32nd minute and 38th minute, while Rosan Minz scored the 7th goal in the 41st minute.
Tyron Pereira scored the 8th goal in the 42nd minute to make it 8-1. Sports Authority Of India defended well in the final quarter, but Talwinder Singh added the 9th goal in the 58th minute. Chetan Mallappa Karisiri managed to get a goal back in the 59th minute for Sports Authority Of India but Petroleum Sports Promotion Board won the match 9-2 to reach the final..