Indian Airlines win Nehru hockey

Riding on the double strike by young drag-flicker Sandeep Singh, Indian Airlines defeated Punjab and Sind Bank 2-0 to win the 42nd STC Nehru hockey tournament at the Shivaji stadium in Delhi on Saturday.

A move in the third minute, initiated by left-half Prabodh Tirkey, saw Arjun Halappa to force a penalty-corner for Indian Airlines and Sandeep Singh seized the opportunity with a power-packed flick to give his side the early lead.

Thereafter, Airlines, fed by good promptings from Dhanraj Pillay, created nice moves and attacked the PSB goal, but none of their efforts could produce any result. Skipper Dilip Tirkey, who is slowly regaining fitness, was hard to beat in the Airlines defence.

Five minutes from time, Sandeep put the issue beyond doubt scoring from another penalty-corner.

The winners earned Rs 200,000 while the runners-up received Rs 100,000.