Air India & ONGC to lock horns in pool decider

The 21st Lal Bahadur Shastri Hockey Tournament continued its high-scoring streak on Wednesday as the Oil and Natural Gas Commission (ONGC) saw off Pool B rivals Punjab National Bank (PNB) 4-1 at the Dhyan Chand Stadium.

The 21st Lal Bahadur Shastri Hockey Tournament continued its high-scoring streak on Wednesday as the Oil and Natural Gas Commission (ONGC) saw off Pool B rivals Punjab National Bank (PNB) 4-1 at the Dhyan Chand Stadium.

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Ending the first half with a 1-0 lead after Jagwant scored a field goal in the 24th minute, ONGC ran riot in the second half, adding another three field goals to PNB's lone strike by Jalwinder.

In a Pool A match, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) hammered South Central Railways 4-0, netting three goals in the first half through Karamjeet Singh, Ravipal Singh and Sher Singh.

BPCL took the foot off the gas after the break, scoring the final goal and closing the match with 20 minutes left on the clock.

The Pool B decider between Air India and ONGC will be played on the morrow. ONGC could go through even with a four goal loss, thanks to a favourable goal difference over PNB, tied at four points.

In Pool A, Army XI and Indian Oil Corporation are also tied on four points, and a draw on Thursday will see the two and BPCL tied at five points. The advantage will then lie with BPCL and Army XI on goal difference.

Saini gets hole-in-one
Mewat: Simran Saini of India got a hole-in-one on the second hole to grab attention on the opening day of the 2nd Hex City Albatross International Championship, in association with the Hindustan Times, at the Classic Golf Resort on Wednesday.

Competing in Category B, Saini, who hails from Kapurthala and idolises Gaganjeet Bhullar, said, "He is an inspiration for me and I look up to him when we practice at the RCF golf course (in Kapurthala). He has given me tips on improving my swing and it really worked today," said Saini.

He, however, failed to come up with a good score and finished with an eight-over.

In Category A, Dylan Raubenheimer of South Africa led with a par score while defending champion Ankur Chadha found the going tough and finished at nine-over.

In Category B, Feroz Garewal led with a par-score and was followed by Danthai Boolma of Thailand, who was two shots away.

India's Prakhar Asawa was on fire and his five-under left him in the lead in Category C. He was followed by last year's winner, Piyush Sangwan, who recorded a one-under.

In Category D, Tanapal Dusadeepruetthiphal of Thailand led with a par score while Almer Noreen Nurdaffa of Indonesia was the leader in Category E.

Daulat Ram b-ball
New Green Field School, Saket beat Modern School, Vasant Vihar to qualify for the final of the Daulat Ram Memorial Basketball Tournament here on Wednesday.

The scoreline read 56-38. Pulkit Jain top-scored with 18 points.

In the second semifinal, Father Agnel's School beat Army Public School, Dhaula Kuan 73-48. Ankur Dwivedi scored 37 points for the winners. For the losers, Abhishek scored 17 points.