CAG (Comptroller & Auditor General), Delhi riding on the brilliance of centre forward Deepanshu Bhargav, who netted a brace and had an assist, went on to record a comfortable 4-2 win against RCF (Rashtriya Chemicals & Fertilizers) in the opening Pool-B match on the first day of the Dabang Mumbai – 50th All India Bombay Gold Cup hockey tournament, which commenced at the MHAL-Mahindra Stadium on Monday evening.
Bhopal Hockey player (right) fights with a Indian Navy player for ball possession during a Pool-C league match of MHAL organised Dabang Mumbai – 50th All India Bombay Gold .Cup Hockey Tournament .
Naeemuddin Mohammad and international Nitin Thimmaiah scored the other two goals in CAG’s win, while the local outfit managed to score two goals through Rajendra Pawar’s field effort and Dhanajoy Singh’s late penalty corner conversion.
CAG taking time to settle down opened the scoring when Mohammad beat RCF goalkeeper Karan Thakur with a deft reverse flick in the 30th minute. Four minutes later, Thimmaiah after picking up Bhargav’s short square pass dribbled past a host of defenders before drawing out the goalkeeper and scooping into an open goal to double the lead.
RCF managed to cut the lead when Rajendra Pawar scored a field goal in the 47th minute. But Bhargav scored two goals in a span of seven minutes to put CAG firmly on the road to victory. RCF reduced the margin of defeat when Dhananjoy converted from their sixth penalty corner which they had earned just before the final hooter.
Earlier, Indian Navy cruised to a fluent 4-2 win against Hockey Bhopal in a Pool-C encounter. The sailors took an early lead with full back Suman Sachin sounding the boards with a firm low push from the first penalty corner in the 8th minute. The visiting Bhopal outfit made a strong reply and drew level when Abhey Kumar did well to trap a cross from the left and with a reverse hit coolly slotted past goalkeeper Vikas in the 17th minute and the teams went into the break on level terms.
However, after changing ends, Navy showed more urgency and scored two quick goals in as many minutes to open up a 3-1 lead. In the 48th minute Nitesh intercepted a deflection on the right side of the striking circle and beat goalkeeper Aaman Ullah Hashmi for the second goal. A minute later Pratap and Nitesh combined nicely on the left and set up Jugraj with an easy tap in for the third goal.
Hockey Bhopal threatened to fight back as Sahir Mohammad reduced the deficit in the 53rd minute but Navy once again found the target through Pratap in the 60th minute to seal the win.
Results – Pool-B: CAG 4 (Naeemuddin Mohammad 30th, Nitin Thimmaiah 34th, Deepanshu Bhargav 51st, 58th) beat RCF2 (Rajendra Pawar 47th, Mayur Patil 70th).
Pool-C: Indian Navy 4 (Suman Sachin 8th, Nitesh 48th, Jugraj Singh 49th, Rana Pratap 60th) beat Hockey Bhopal 2 (Abhey Kumar 17th, Sahir Mohammad 53rd).
Tuesday’s fixtures – 3.00 pm: Indian Oil vs Mumbai Customs (Pool-D); 5.00 pm: Army XI vs Central Railway (Poo-A).