SCR stun defending champs IOCL 5- 2 to set up final with Indian Navy

12 February,2020 05:00 AM IST |   | 


SCR stun defending champs IOCL 5- 2 to set up final with Indian Navy Bombay Gold Cup Hockey Ashwin Ferro ashwin. ferro@ mid- day. com THE Indian Railways are known to produce many topclass hockey players, who have excelled in national colours, but their fallout with Hockey India ( HI) has made life tough for Railwaysu2019 players.

Last year, HI banned the Railway Sports Promotion Board over a player fraud issue.

The ban has had a direct effect on the Railways playersu2019 job promotions.

u201c Our players only get job promotions if our team win the HI- conducted national tournament but following the ban, we cannot participate in the nationals. So life is tough for our hockey players but they continue to give their best,u201d South Central Railway coach Babu Tagore told midday after his team stunned defending champions IOCL 5- 2 to storm into the final of the 54th All India Bombay Gold Cup hockey tournament at the MHAL Stadium in Churchgate on Tuesday.

PR Aiyappa ( 7th, 58th minute) scored a brace for SCR while Sheshe Gowda ( 6th), Pratap Lakra ( 8th) and Lovepreet Singh ( 50th) added a goal each yesterday. Sumit Kumar ( 30th) and Talwinder Singh ( 35th) reduced the margin for IOCL. Interestingly, despite the promotion issue, SCR have been in red- hot form, having won the Railway Hockey League in Kapurthala this year to add to their three titles last yearu2014 the Mohammed Shahid Memorial ( in Varanasi), the Gurmit Memorial and the Field Marshal Arjan Singh Memorial titles ( both in Chandigarh).

Coorgi lads hold promise Coorg is well known for its coffee and hockey. And on Tuesday, a young Coorg XI showed glimpses of that hockey prowess before going down 0- 3 to a seasoned Indian Navy in the semi- finals.

Despite the defeat, the tournamentu2019s debutants have given a good account of themselves, leaving coach and Olympian MM Somaya proud.

u201c The average age of this team is just 20 and they have beaten two teams, Union Bank and Northern Railway en route the semis, so itu2019s been a fine show,u201d said Somaya, a Coorgi himself.

The team, comprising players from Karnataka, have been put up at the Western Railway Complex in Mahalaxmi. u201c The idea is to give the youngsters exposure of playing at an all India level tournament, where they can hopefully be spotted by some top clubs, who can offer them jobs based on their hockey ability,u201d added Somaya a gold medallist at the 1980 Moscow Olympics. The Coorg side were beaten by goals from Indian Navyu2019s Ajinkya Jadhav ( 9th minute), Pawan Rajbhar ( 41st) and Aaquib Raahim ( 52nd).

Umpires also have a coach Just as players have coaches screaming out instructions to them from the sidelines, umpires too have had some guidance during the ongoing tournament.

On Tuesday, Hockey India- appointed Umpiresu2019 Manager Ripudaman Sharma ( seated in the stands) was seen encouraging umpires Rameez Qureshi and Govind Latwal during the first semi- final between IOCL and South Central Railway. u201c Shabbash Rameez, good call. Keep it up,u201d yelled Sharma as the umpire pulled up one of the players for a dangerous foul.

Moments later, however, Rameez erred in a call and Sharma promptly made a note across his name in a little diary which will be referred to during the umpiresu2019 briefing that is done post- match.

Olympian MM Somaya with the Coorg XI team yesterday Umpiresu2019 Manager Ripudaman Sharma in the stands yesterday PR Aiyappa ( right) of South Central Railway scores against IOCL during the semi- final of the Bombay Gold Cup yesterday. pics / ATUL KAMBLE

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