Air India rally to down ONGC for title

Mumbai: Air India, with a clutch of ex-internationals in their ranks, rallied brilliantly to overcome Oil and Natural Gas Commission 5-2 and lift the 9th Guru Tegh Bahadur All India Gold Cup hockey tournament.

The Mumbai outfit, marshalled very well by ex-India players Dhanraj Pillay and skipper Sameer Dad, came from behind twice in the fast-paced final to douse the aspirations of their Delhi rivals and win the top prize of Rs 1.25 lakh. Dad scored a brace of goals, including a superlative effort from a virtual zero angle on the left side which put AI 3-2 in front midway through the second half.The other goal-getters for the winners were Girish Pimpale, Len Aiyappa and Mathias Minz. Jagwant Singh and Baljinder Singh got the goals for ONGC who got Rs 25,000.Jagwant Singh opened the tally for ONGC in the 25th minute through a fine top-of-circle reverse hit, which was neutralised three minutes later by Dad with a diving effort off a pass from Pillay. PTI