Didars hat-trick puts IOC in final

Before the semi-final match,there were clouds of concern hanging over Army XI's camp. They were going into the semi-final match against Indian Oil Corporation without enough goals behind them.

Before the semi-final match,there were clouds of concern hanging over Army XI’s camp. They were going into the semi-final match against Indian Oil Corporation without enough goals behind them. And the fear that their worst dreams could come true in the last four haunted them all and again. But the worst was to happen as IOC’s in-form player Didar Singh helped himself to a hat-trick and,as expected,their opposition team caved in pressure and bowed out after a 1-5 defeat which saw the IOC team walk into the final in the 46th Jindal Steel Nehru Hockey Tournament at Sector 42 Hockey Stadium on Tuesday.

Didar Singh,one of the top scorers of the tournament,did not take much time to find the back of the net as he put IOC into the lead in the 18th minute of the match after converting a penalty corner. The Army XI players,meanwhile,tried to contain IOC forwards with some superb defending and even raided their opposition team’s territory whenever they sensed a chance.

Eliazer Lakra,who came to team’s rescue in the match against Punjab National Bank on Monday,once again surged ahead and restored parity for the team by scoring a field goal in the 30th minute of the match. With the score tied at 1-1,both the teams went into lemon-break to take some rest after a tough-fought first half.

However,the second half belonged entirely to IOC as they netted in four more goals to secure a comfortable win. Didar Singh scored his second goal of the match through a field goal in the 53rd minute,while Arjun Anthil was also on target in the 64th minute to give IOC a 3-1 lead.

A minute later,Printender Singh found the back of the net to consolidate IOC’s lead,while Didar completed his hat-trick converting a penalty corner in the 69th minute.

Meanwhile,in the second semi-final,Namdhari XI edged past resilient Punjab National Bank 2-1 to book their place in the final. The low scoring match started on a bright note with both the teams going all attacking in the first half.

It was Punjab National Bank who took the lead through Yudhvir Singh,who scored a field goal in the seventh minute of the match. Namdhari XI found the equaliser in the 23rd minute when Harpreet Singh converted a penalty corner. Resuming after the break,Harpreet gave his team members a memorable moment after scoring the winning goal in the 63rd minute.

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Didars hat-trick puts IOC in final

Before the semi-final match,there were clouds of concern hanging over Army XI's camp. They were going into the semi-final match against Indian Oil Corporation without enough goals behind them.

Didars hat-trick puts IOC in final