THANKS TO a brilliant hat-trick by Karan, Bhopal on Monday recovered from a 0-2 deficit to edge past Patiala 3-2 in the All-India Inter-SAI Hockey Tournament being played at SAI Centre, Bishenkheri, here. In the other matches, Northern Region plastered Eastern Region 5-1.
After scoring a thumping 7-2 victory over Gandhi Nagar on Sunday, Bhopal were today determined to repeat the performance against Patiala.
However, this time the team found the goings tough against a good team like Patiala. The result was, the Capital boys trailed 0-2 at the end of the first half.
However, Karan had other ideas. He scored thrice in the second half to ensure a 3-2 win for Bhopal. He scored his first hat-trick of the tournament. In the other match, Northern Zone entered the next round by thrashing Eastern Zone 5-1.