Confident Punjab Police put up a clinical performance to beat Tamil Nadu Police 5-1 in the first semifinal of the day at the 70th All India Police Hockey Championship here on Friday.
After a goalless first quarter, it was striker Ramandeep Singh's back-to-back goals in the 25th and 27th minute that put Punjab Police in a comfortable 2-0 lead. They extended it to 4-0 when Varinder Singh scored a field goal in the 30th minute followed by a goal from Dupinderdeep Singh in the 31st minute.
Although Tamil Nadu Police scored their lone goal in the 33rd minute via M Balamurgan, they could do little to dent Punjab Police's strong defence. Meanwhile, Punjab Police scored in the 37th minute by Kanwarjeet Singh and a 5-1 lead was enough to romp into the final to be played on Saturday.
In the other semifinal of the day, a fighting Karnataka State Police went down to ITBP Jalandhar 0-2 in a tense shootout. Earlier in the game, both teams drew 1-1 in regulation time.
While ITBP Punjab scored in the 21st minute through a well-converted penalty corner by Ravi Xess, a fighting Karnataka scored in the dying minutes of the match through Venkatesh Kyarakatti. He pocketed a fine field goal in the 57th minute to take the semifinal into a shootout. Karnataka State Police will now play the bronze medal match against Tamil Nadu Police on Saturday.
Earlier in the day, CRPF Delhi women's team beat Maharashtra State Police 13-0 in a one-sided semifinal. They booked a final berth against Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) who beat Odisha Police 6-0 in the second semifinal.
On the final day of the 70th All India Police Hockey Championship, Maharashtra Police will take on Odisha police in the women's bronze medal match while CRPF Delhi will play SSB in the women's final.
In the men's bronze medal match, Karnataka State Police will take on Tamil Nadu Police while the final will take place between Punjab Police and ITBP Jalandhar.
( With inputs from ANI )
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