Rashtriya Chemicals & Fertilizers, Mumbai, powered by Shiva Kumar's double strikes, overcame hosts Bombay Gymkhana President's XI 4-1 in a first round match of the DCB Presents Aga Khan hockey tournament - 2011, at the Bombay Gymkhana ground, on Monday.
The home team, comprising former Indian stars Viren Rasquinha, Darryl D'Souza, Edgar Mascarenhas Sr, Devinder Kumar and goalkeeper Edgar Mascarenhas Jr, put up a decent fight, but were unable to keep pace and match their younger and fitter opponents.
The senior pros from Bombay Gymkhana showed promise at the start as they stitched together some nice passes in their build-up towards the rival goal. But they found it tough to break through the RCF defence and have a clear shot at goal.
RCF finally got the breakthrough in the 12th minute when Shiva Kumar, with a darting run from the left, cut into the striking circle and with a rasping angular hit beat Mascarenhas.
He was again on target, tapping home a pass from Mahesh Bagade in the 30th minute.
Bombay Gym pulled one back in the 46th minute when Devinder Kumar sounded the board with a solid hit from the left.
Suhas Patil knocked the fight out of Bombay Gym, scoring the third goal in the 58th minute before Mahesh Bagade added the fourth, a minute before the final hooter.
In another first round match, Karnataka XI scored twice in the second session through Bipin to put out Indian Customs 2-0. Bipin scored his first goal in the 48th minute and doubled the lead six minutes later to help his side move into the second round.
In a fast-paced encounter, Karnataka were clearly the better team. They showed better coordination and created more chances but had to wait till the 48th minute to open the scoring. They continued to pound the rival goal and Bipin again found success six minutes later to put his side in a comfortable position.
