Pune outfit routs Jharkhand 7-4 at junior hockey meet

Pune District Hockey Association dished out a disciplined performance to seal a 7-4 win against Jharkhand in the 35th Junior (under-20) National Hockey Championship boy`s Pool `C` match.

Pune: Hosts Pune District Hockey Association (PDHA) dished out a disciplined performance to seal a 7-4 win against Jharkhand in the 35th Junior (under-20) National Hockey Championship boy`s Pool `C` match at the Major Dhyanchand Ground here on Monday evening.

The trio of Vinit Kambale (3), Deep Patel (2) and captain Pramod Shingede (2) delivered the goods for PDHA, who have qualified for the pre-quarter-finals having won both their matches in this pool. They had earlier defeated Goa 5-1 in their opening league match. On Monday, the PDHA youngsters took time to settle down, but once they got into their groove they were over the rivals. Patel opened the account, when after accepting a pass from Shingede, pushed firmly past Jharkhand goalkeeper Sunit Lakra. Two minutes later Kambale got the first of his three goals. He then combined with Shingede down the right before providing a precise through pass for his captain to fire home from the edge of the striking circle. Jharkhand managed to reduce the deficit (1-3) through Binod Dodrai in the 38th minute. PDHA continued to dictate terms and slammed in four more goals to place themselves firmly in the driver`s seat. The visitors, fighting a losing battle, managed to score three goals during the second session to avoid the humiliation of a crushing defeat. Earlier, SAIL (Steel Authority of India) recorded their third successive win in Pool `A` as they romped to a 6-0 win against Kerala to join PDHA and Madhya Pradesh State Hockey Academy from Pool `E` in the next round. Meanwhile, Uttarkhand, riding on a timely hat-trick from Basant Bhardwal, managed to force a 4-4 draw with Hyderabad in an inconsequential Pool E match. PTI