THE JHARKHAND STORY NETWORK
Kolkata, March 18: The real competition of the pool league matches came alive on the second day of the All India Public Sector Hockey Tournament 2025 at the SAI hockey ground on Tuesday.
The cross-field breeze kept the temperature to manageable limits on a warm day. The Pool A contestants, SAIL and Union Bank of India (UBI) produced an electrifying performance to share six goals.
The draw enabled both teams to log a point from this game. SAIL, who had won against NALCO on the opening day yesterday by a 17-0 margin ended the Pool engagement with four points from one victory and a draw.
UBI opened their first point with a match in hand against NALCO on Wednesday. To qualify for the final, UBI has to not only win but have to win by at least 18 goals to offset SAIL’s goal difference.
SAIL quickly went into 2-0 lead within 17 minutes of the game through Anand Hasti’s 10th-minute field goal and Lelsan Minz’s penalty corner goal. UBI managed to reduce the deficit in the third quarter when Venkatesh Kenche produced a 32nd-minute field goal.
Four minutes later Anmol Ekka took SAIL to a 3-1 lead with a fine field goal. Down 1-3, UBI galvanised into real action to dominate the proceedings till the end. In the process, the Bankmen struck two goals in the last quarter. Babu Matkar scored following penalty corners in the 52nd and 54th minutes to keep UBI in the hunt for a place in the final.
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FCI go down
On the pitch, it looked like FCI was a dominant team but Bengaluru-based Canara Bank produced a tactically sound game to annihilate SAIL 3-2.
The loss has put SAIL almost out of the title race as they ended with three points from their victory against Coal India Limited (CIL). A simple win against NALCO on Wednesday will be enough for the Bankmen from Karnataka to sail into Thursday’s final.
FCI, who walloped the hosts CIL by a 34-0 margin on the opening day, did everything well but failed to translate their territorial dominance into goals. The Bankmen showed a lot of resilience, soaked the pressure and produced effective counters to triumph.
In fact Canara Bank’s first goal in the 7th minute via a penalty corner was against the run of play as P.N. Purthviraj made no mistake of the chance.
FCI needed 37 minutes to restore parity through a penalty corner when Parikshit scored. In between FCI failed to score through a penalty stroke as Canara Bank’s goalkeeper Shan Monappa made a terrific save.
Canara Bank scored twice in the 55th and 58th minutes through P. Somaiah and Chethan Malappa K., both field goals beating the FCI’s international defender Surender Kumar hands down. Parikshit’s second goal in the 55th minute went in vain as the Bankmen showed better tactical sense and determination.
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6 PSU teams competing in the tournament
P.M. Prasad, Chairman, Coal India Ltd, inaugurated the four-day All India Public Sector Hockey Tournament 2025 conducted under the aegis of the All India Public Sector Sports Control Board (AIPSSCB) on 17th March at SAI Turf, Kolkata. Altogether six PSU teams—Food Corporation of India (FCI), National Aluminium Company Limited (NALCO), Canara Bank, United Bank of India (UBI), Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL), and Coal India Limited— are participating for achieving glory.
A mega sports event was organized under the guidance of Dr. Vinay Ranjan, Director (P&IR), CIL through the Coal India Sports Promotion Association. Amitabh Kumar Singh, HOD (Welfare) and his team members including Barsha Naskar conducted the event. More than 120 top hockey players are participating in this event.
