In what was a repeat of the third final of the second edition of the Premier Hockey League, Bangalore Hi-Fliers displayed a spirited performance at the Sector-42 Hockey Stadium to score a 2-1 win over Chandigarh Dynamos to emerge champions in the league’s fourth edition.
Len Aiyappa (32nd minute) and You Hyo Sik (62nd) scored, while Sandeep Singh (69th) netted the consolation goal for Dynamos.
Hi-Fliers rode their luck in the early part of the game, when Dynamos missed over half a dozen easy chances, before displaying ingenuity in mid-field and improvisation in their attack.
After an inspiring 4-2 win in the second final, Bangalore Hi-Fliers were not really ready to concede the advantage.
For Dynamos, Deepak Thakur made some brilliant individual sallies, but they failed to find the mark.
Dynamos dominated the first quarter but they started to lose their grip as the match became faster in the second quarter. Deepak missed an easy chance in the 18th minute with only Hi-Fliers goalkeeper Bharath Kumar to beat. While Rajpal Singh, Sher Singh and Ravipal Singh formulated smooth individual sallies repeatedly in the second quarter, Hi-Fliers mid-field, headed by Hari Prasad and assisted by Bimal Lakra, controlled the game well.
Hi-Fliers captain Tushar Khandekar and Korean You Hyo Sik played stellar roles in their side’s triumph. A run by Hari Prasad resulted in Hi-Fliers earning their first penalty corner of the match and drag-flick expert Len Aiyappa showed no hesitation in sounding the board.
Immediately after the resumption, Tushar Khandelkar and Sunil bewildered the Dynamos defence but an alert SS Gill cleared the ball.
... contd.