BPCL edge past Air India into semis

Chennai, Sep 19 (IANS) Bharat Petroleum defeated last year’s joint winners Air India 3-1 to qualify for the semi-final of the 88th All-India MCC-Murugappa Gold Cup hockey tournament here Thursday.

The result placed BPCL second in pool B with nine points at the end of the league stage while Punjab National Bank topped with same number of points, but with superior goal-difference.

In the semi-finals scheduled for Saturday, last year’s joint winners and Pool A toppers Indian Oil take on Bharat Petroleum while PNB face Indian Overseas Bank, who finished second in Pool A.

BPCL rode on two goals by Pundalik Bellary (5th, 50th minutes) and Gurpreet Singh (46th) while Air India’s reply came in the 61st minute via an own goal.

Earlier, in an inconsequential Pool A match, CAG trounced South Central Railway 5-2, courtesy goals by Md. Naeemuddin (2), Navneet Swarnkar, Nitin Thimmaiah and S.S. Bundelha. For South Central, Mayank James and Dhamu scored.

CAG thus recorded their only win in four matches while South Central finished last in the pool, having lost all their four games.