Air India defends title in Senior Men National C'ship

Defending champions Air India Sports Promotion Board retained their title after beating Comptroller & Auditor General of India 4-1 in an exciting final of the fourth Hockey India Senior Men National Championship 2014 (Division A) here today.
Air India was high on confidence from the start as Gaganpreet Singh, bagging a penalty corner opportunity in the 14th minute, pounded the ball to the net for the first goal of the match.
The second goal was yet again a penalty corner which was again converted by Gaganpreet in the 29th minute. Going in the break the team was leading 2-0 at the Major Dhyan Chand Hockey Stadium here.

In the second half, Air India kept its momentum and did not give Comptoller & Auditor General of India any opportunity to take over. In the 39th minute, Air India pounded their third goal with Gaganpreet notching his hattrict of goals to give his team a 3-0 lead.
In the 59th minute Comptoller & Auditor General of India got a penalty strike which was taken by Dhyan Sungh and successfully converted. Air India then added one more goal to complete a well deserved win.
Earlier, hosts Uttar Pradesh overcame Railway Sports Promotion Board 4-2 to claim the third position in the championship.

It was Belsajar Horo of Railway Promotion Board, who opened the score with the help of a field goal in the 12th minute to give his team a 1-0 lead.
Uttar Pradesh went on the attack immediately and in the 24th minute Tushar Khandekar hit the equalizer. At the end of first half the score card read 1-1.