Punjab crush Bihar 9-0 in quarterfinal

Bhopal: Punjab crushed Bihar 9-0 to move into the semifinal of the senior national hockey championship on Thursday. Prabhdeep Singh slammed three goals, Manpreet Singh two while Satbir Singh, Sarvanjit Singh, Ranjodh Singh and Harpreet Singh scored goals apiece.It turned out to be a lopsided contest as the strong Punjab outfit dictated terms against the young Bihar side. Bihar held on a rampaging Punjab for the first 23 minutes before Manpreet opened the floogates with his side`s first of two penalty corner conversions. Punjab struck three goals within six minutes and finished the first half leading 4-0. They continued in the same vein in the second half. Bihar coach Rabi Roshan, however, was satisfied with the overall performance of his team. "The boys are hardly 16 and 17 years old and they have done a fairly good job. That we have reached so far shows they have the potential to do well with more exposure and training. There is lack of training facilities back home, still we have managed to do well," Roshan said.

IANS