Champs AirIndia confident of S/Fwin
Defending champions Air India is confident of a semi-final win against Punjab National Bank on Thursday, which would confirm their passage to final of the 12th PMC Bank-Guru Tegh Bahadur All India Gold Cup Hockey Championship, organized by MHAL (Mumbai Hockey Association Limited) and played at the MHAL-Mahindra Stadium, Churchgate.
Air India captain Shivendra Singh in action during 12th PMC Bank-Guru Tegh Bahadur All India Gold Cup Hockey Championship
Air India coach, Dhanraj Pillay, believes that his team would recover from the 4-6 loss to RCF (Rail Coach Factory), Kapurthala in the final Pool-A league match on Tuesday and also acknowledged that they were beaten by a team that played better on the day. After three convincing win (3-2 against Central Railway, 7-2 – Mumbai Customs and 7-5 – FCI), this was the first defeat for Air India in the league stage.
“RCF were brilliant and played a very good game. They also got an early goal and then capitalized on that advantage. I think that since we had already qualified for the semis, it could be the reason why we were not at our best and we have to take this defeat in our stride. I consider this as a good wake up call for us and I am confident that we will perform better in the semi-final against PNB and win to play the final,” said Pillay.
Pillay, a four-time Olympian and former India captain also pointed out that his team is a mix of experienced players and some young talented ones and capable of beating the best. Air India boasts of several Olympian and international players; skipper Shivendra Singh, Arjun Halappa, Sameer Dad, Birendra Lakra, Vikram Pillay, V.S. Vinaya, Girish Pimpale and goalkeeper Adrian D’Souza and Pillay would bank on them to throw their weight to turn things in their favour.
Air India captain Shivendra has been in good scoring form and lot will depend on his to once again deliver the goods. Young Janma Majhi has also scored quite consistently while Halappa, Vinaya, Pawan Kumar, who got a hat-trick in the last game, will have to play supporting roles to ensure they find the goals.
On the other hand, P.N. Bank bounced back after succumbing to a 1-3 defeat to Western Railway in the opener. But they gradually found winning form scoring tight wins against Hockey Bhopal 5-3, Union Bank of India 3-2 and a crucial 3-2 win against CAG to top Pool-B with 10 points and clinch a place in the penultimate round. They have some seasoned talented players like Arjun Antil, skipper Shivdeep, Ranjit Singh, Sumit Toppo and Gagadeep Singh who has been nicely leading the attack from the front. Naveen Antil and Sanjay have also been amongst the goals.
The second semi-final will be a contest between RCF and Western Railway would be repeat of the Inter-Railway final, which the former won 3-2 via the penalty shootout after the match ended 1-1.
The RCF outfit is brimming with confidence following their recent triumph in the Lakshmi Ammal Memorial All-India Hockey Tournament in Kovilpatti, Tamil Nadu. They have also enjoyed a good run in this competition and the win against Air India on Tuesday would further boost their confidence.
In contrast Western have not played to their potential and consistently. Except for drag-flick specialist Amit Rohidas, the rest of the team has been lacking. Rohidas who converted four consecutive penalty corners in the 5-6 defeat to Hockey Bhopal on Monday, will have to hope the forwards are struggling to find the net could at least try and earn some penalty corners, which could help them to win.
Semi-final schedule
4.30 pm: Air India, Delhi vs Punjab National Bank, Delhi
6.30 pm: Western Railway, Mumbai vs Rail Coach Factory, Kapurthala