THE INTER-SAI Hockey Tournament began on a disappointing note for Bhopal on Monday as the hosts suffered upset. Bhopal faced a tough Lucknow in the first match of the tournament. The hosts were struggling in the first half of the match as they were trailing by 0-2 goals. However, they bounced back brilliantly in the second half.
When it seemed that Bhopal would at least end the match in draw, the team conceded a goal in the last part of the match. Surinder was the scorer. With this goal Lukknow maintained the lead till the end of the match. They won the match 3-2.
Before the hosts would forget the first defeat, another host team lost the match to Delhi in the second match.
Playing against Day Boarding Delhi team, the hosts suffered a close 2-1 defeat. The story was almost the same as the first match except the score. When the score was 1-1, Ashok shot a goal to make it 2-1 in favour of the Delhi team.
Earlier, former international hockey player and SAI coach CA Karambhaiya inaugurated the tournament.