Chennai: Indian Army bet Indian Air Force 2-1 in the MCC-Murugappa Gold Cup Hockey tournament match, held at Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium, here, yesterday.
In the first match of the evening, Indian Air Force led the first quarter as they scored as early as the eighth minute with Jagat Nachana finding the net. But Indian Army kept things tight and there was an intense battle between the two teams on the turf.
Suddenly, the match had a controversy as Indian Air Force player Chandan Aind was cut on the nose after being hit by Army’s Rahul Rajbhar and was stretchered off the pitch.Rajbhar was soon shown the red card.
But this did not let deter Indian Army, despited being one man short on the field as towards the end of a third quarter, Prathap Shinde helped them get the equaliser. In the 49th minute, they took the lead by scoring another goal with Vishwa Thakur finding the net. For the remaining 11 seconds, Indian Army ensured that no further goals were scored as they walked off with a win.
In another match, Indian Navy defeated Indian Railways 3-0 to advance into the semis.
In the third match of the day, defending champions IOC eased to a 4-1 victory against Bengaluru Hockey Association (BHA).