Union Bank of India glided to the next round defeating Sports Authority of India (SAI) 5-2 in the Mumbai Hockey Championship at the Mahindra Stadium here on Monday.
Vijay Thappa, who joined the team last year, scored twice in the crucial win for the bankers. “All I wanted to do was score. That was our strategy,” said Thappa, who played left-out.
However, after scoring his first goal, Thappa was accidentally injured on the head and was out of the field for a few minutes. And as soon as he returned, he scored another magnificent goal.
Earlier, SAI had an opportunity to draw the score level but Rajendre Nangnoor struck from outside the D and it wasn’t counted.
The bankers scored their third goal when CK Somanna converted their third penalty corner in the second half after wasting two similar chances.
There were a few words exchanged between players of the two teams. “They (SAI) were playing rough and sledging. However, in a competitive game all this is expected,” said Thappa.
The Union Bank will face Western Railway in the next round on Wednesday. “They are more experienced so, we need to be careful and come up with a better strategy against them,” said Thappa.
Results: Indian Navy 7 (V Prakash 2, MK Thakur 2, A Kumar, A Kiro, A Guswami) bt Sea View SC 1 (M Pullanthara), Union Bank of India 5 (S Singh 2, V Thappa 2, Somanna CK) bt Sports Authority of India 2 (R Nangnoor, S Bimte), Central Railway 1(H Singh) bt MS Police 0
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