Army XI and IA enter semis

Army XI and Indian Airlines moved into the semi-finals of the 111th All India Beighton Cup hockey tournament in Kolkata on Friday.

Army XI breezed past Indian Airlines 4-0 in a surprisingly one-sided quarter final encounter to top group B with an all win record that fetched them nine points.

The airmen, who had won their first two matches, also made it to the last four by virtue of finishing second in the group with six points.

The armymen went ahead in the 34th minute through an Ellyas Lakra field goal, but tightened the screws in the second session to pump in three more.

Rajesh Lakra converted a penalty corner in the 43rd minute, before Cyprian Aind and Anil Ekka scored field goals in the 46th and 69th minutes respectively.

In group A, Punjab Police and BSF, Jalandhar, finished 2-2.

BSF, already into the last four, went ahead 2-0 in the first half, with Ranjit Singh finding the target in the 17th and 21st minutes. The Punjab side raised their game after the breather and drew level as Deepak Kumar netted in quick succession in the 40th and 42nd minutes respectively. All four goals were field conversions.

In an inconsequential group B outing, Karnataka XI routed CC&FC 5-1.

Magesh and Manjunath Yadav scored twice each while Chetan Kumar was the other goal-getter for the winners. Santosh Rajbhar was the sole scorer for the local outfit.

In Sunday's semi-finals, Army XI will take on PSB while BSF clash with Indian Arilines.