Hopefuls for the 2001 Junior World Cup pushed off a four-team tournament comprising trainees at camps in Bangalore and Pune. Of special interest is the Light Blues (under-21) side under CR Kumar, training at Bangalore, and comprising the bulk of the squad that finished second to South Korea in an eight-nation tourney at Poznan, Poland, in August.

Light Blues (u-21) beat Reds (u-18) 3-1 after Dark Blues got the better of their u-18 counterparts Orange 4-3 in the opening round of matches. Perhaps a little of disappointment as well for Reds coaches Clarence Lobo and Ajay Bansal whose under-18 charges training in Pune could havedone better had they sustained tempo in the second half.

And for Olympian Somayya hope for the future in terms of penalty corner execution. Powerfully-built Len Ayappa aspires to be an Indian Bovelander. The full-back in the under-21 side scored from the drag flick and loomed ominously at four penalty corners that the Poznan side forced. ``He's the best on view in the country,'' Somayya said. `` I haven't seen another flick so powerfully,'' the 1988 Seoul Olympics skipper added.

Inside-right Hamza Mujtaba shot Reds ahead early in the first half but Ayappa's wrists restored parity from his side's first penalty corner in the 25th minute. Inside-left Prakash Chalke scored a brace.