DU make it to semis on goal difference

New Delhi, January 7: Madras University needed a clear 5-0 victory over Banaras Hindu University in their last group B league match to mak...

New Delhi, January 7: Madras University needed a clear 5-0 victory over Banaras Hindu University in their last group B league match to make it to the semifinals and deny Delhi the chance in the 60th All India inter-varsity hockey (men) championships.

But it did not happen at the TTI grounds (Jamia Millia Islamia campus) as BHU held Madras to a goalless draw, thus paving the way for DU’s entry into the semifinals.

Delhi and Barkatullah University both had six points each but the former had a better goal difference — four as against two by the latter. Madras, with four points, could finish only third in the group.

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Incidentally, it will be an all-North Zone affair in the semifinals as all the four qualifiers are from the same zone.

North Zone champions and hosts Jamia Millia Islamia, runners-up Chaudhary Charan Singh University (Meerut), Delhi and Aligarh Muslim University topped their respective groups to move into the last four grade.

Jamia, Meerut and AMU finished their groups with all-win records while Delhi made it by virtue of better goal-difference.

In the last league matches played today, Jamia overpowered Rajasthan 3-0 to top group A with nine points. The winners led 2-0 at half time. Parveen gave Jamia the lead in the 16th minute and centre-forward Hamza Mujtaba shot home the second goal two minutes later. Sanjeet completed the tally in the 37th minute.

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Jamia scored 18 goals and conceded only one as they completed their league assignment today.

CCSU (Meerut) edged out Bangalore 2-1 after leading 2-0 at the break. Tariq Aziz put the Meerut in the lead in fourth minute and then Kuldeep scored the second goal a minute before the breather. Hariprasad reduced the margin for Bangalore in the 49th minute.

Bangalore with six points finished second in group D. In group C, AMU overcame a spirited Jiwaji University (Gwalior) 4-3 after leading 4-1 at interval. Salim Siddiqui opened the account for AMU in the fifth minute and two minutes later Meraj Aziz increased the tally. Meraj Aziz scored his second and the team’s third goal in the 22nd minute. Three minutes later Vijay Swarankar reduced the margin for Jiwaji. AMU consolidated their lead once again in the 26th minute through Iqbal Khan.

In the second session, Sanjay Pandey and Vijay Swarnakar scored a goal each for the losers in the 45th and 48th minutes, respectively.

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The results:
Group A: Jamia Millia Islamia bt Rajasthan 3-0
Group B: Madras drew with BHU Varanasi 0-0
Group C: AMU Aligarh bt Jiwaji (Gwalior) 4-3
Group D: Chaudhary Charan Singh (Meerut) bt Bangalore 2-1.

Semifinal line-up (to be played on Tuesday): Jamia Millia Islamia vs AMU, Meerut vs Delhi.