The Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) squeezed past Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) 3-2 to book their berth in the semifinals of the 30th Petroleum Sports Promotion Board (inter-unit) hockey tournament at the Olympian Surjit Singh Hockey Stadium, here on Thursday.
In the match played with the fast pace, Gurjinder Singh opened the account for IOC by converting a penalty corner in the 16th minute of game. However, BPCL's Jarnail Singh hit the plank in the 28th minute to neutralise the opponents' lead. In second half, Gurpreet Singh pushed BPCL 2-1 ahead by converting a penalty corner, although Prabhjot Singh soon brought IOC back into contention by scoring the equaliser. In the 61st minute, Bharat scored the winner for IOC.
In the other match played in the day, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) thrashed IEL 2-0 to enter the semifinal. Mandeep Singh and Pramod Kumar were the goal scorers for the winners.