Air India edge past Sports Authority of India, 4-3 in All India Obaidullah Gold Cup: Hockey Recap
In the 65th version of the All India Obaidullah Gold Cup Hockey Tournament, Air India edged past Sports Authority of India (SAI), 4-3. The cliff-hanging contest was held at the Aishbagh Stadium in Bhopal, India on May 26, 2011.
It is vital to mention here that some twelve squads are competing in the tournament of which ten belong to India while the other two are from aboard. Among the foreigner squads, one hails from Bangladesh while other from Malaysia.
The defending champions, Air India, displayed outstanding performances and scored four goals against the three of their competitors.
The game was opened with a lot of intensity and aggression, as both the sides wanted to get a go-ahead goal. The first 30 minutes of play passed with no squad being able to score a goal, despite plenty of attacks and counter-attacks. Regardless of non-scoring situation, the strikers from the two teams fought an incredible battle and carried out attacks towards either side, but to no avail. All the strikes and attacks were denied by the strong defence.
It is pertinent to mention here that the Air India team comprised of legendary players including Samir Dad, Shivendra Singh and former Indian skipper Dhanraj Pillay. It was Air India that drew the first blood in the 30th minute of the game. Joga Singh managed to get into the defensive circle of SAI and unleashed a powerful shot to open the score 1-0.
However, Air India’s lead could not last for long, as opponent SAI had it all even at one-all. A player from Air India committed a foul that awarded SAI a penalty stroke which they didn’t miss and levelled the score. Shakir comfortably converted the penalty stroke and tied the knots at 1-1.
The speed of the game continued to increase and Air India regained the lead in the 32nd minute of the match. Samir passed the ball to Dhanraj Pillay who struck a powerful shot at the net and reclaimed the one goal lead. The first half of play was completed with Air India sitting on top by a single goal, 2-1.
In the second half of play, the speed of the game further increased after the twenty minutes of goal-less period. Samir Dad managed and Shivendra accounted for one goal apiece in the 55th and 57th minutes of the match. With the couple of goals, the Air India team further improved their grip over the match. Avinash and Azam Baig of SIA scored one goal each in the 64th and 70th minutes respectively, to creep the score closer, but to no avail. As the time completed, Air India rode away the field by a solitary goal victory, 4-3.
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