IOC beat Indian Railways; make it to semifinals

Chennai: Rupinder Pal Singh starred with a second-half goal as Indian Oil Corporation defeated Indian

Railways 1-0 in a Group B match to book a semifinal berth in the All-India MCC-Murugappa Gold Cup hockey tournament here today. The win was IOC`s fourth win in a row while Railways, the former champions, suffered their second defeat. The match was heading towards a goalless draw but IOC made good use of a penalty corner two minutes before the hooter as Rupinder showed accuracy with his drag-flick. In an inconsequential Group B match, Punjab National Bank, playing in the tournment after a gap of over seven years, scored their first win in three outings beating Mumbai XI 4-1. Damandeep Singh (5th, 56th), Yudhvir Singh (21st) and Jalwinder Singh (49th) scored for PNB while Gursevak Singh scored the lone goal for the losers from a penalty corner. Bureau Report