Badshahs reign over Wizards 2-1 in WSH

Bhopal: Hosts Bhopal Badshahs notched up a convincing 2-1 victory over Delhi Wizards in their first home match of the inaugural World Series Hockey tournament on Friday.

Bhopal, who had two wins and a draw and a loss so far, scored through Karan Bhaskaran (14th minute), A B Cheeyanna (49th) to move to the top of the points table after pocketing three points. Delhi, who have so far won two matches and lost two, could manage only a solitary goal through Vikramjeet Singh (33rd) in the second quarter. Karan Bhaskaran put Bhopal ahead when he converted a penalty corner in the 14th minute as Delhi goalkeeper Kamaldeep Singh failed to came down in time. Two minutes off the second quarter, Vikramjeet Singh brought up the equaliser when he found the back of the net with a flick in one of the penalty corners to go into the break 1-1. In the third quarter, Delhi could have surged ahead but they failed to convert a short corner which they gained just nine minutes off the hooter. Egged on by the home crowd, the Badshahs finally broke the deadlock when skipper Sameer Dad and A B Cheeyanna joined hands with the latter slotting home in the 49th minute. Infact, Bhopal could have sealed the game in the 63rd minute but they failed to trap the ball properly during a penalty corner. The hosts earned another short corner in the 68th minute, but once again they squandered the opportunity. But this didn`t have any bearing on the result as the Badshahs successfully defended the Delhi attack. Bhopal will now take on Sher-E-Punjab at the same venue on Saturday, while Delhi will be up against Mumbai Marines in Mumbai on Sunday. PTI