Challengers tops group with big win

Both Challengers Hockey and Indian Overseas Bank (Chennai) finished the round-robin stage with 10 points from four matches, but the former edged out the latter on goal difference. On Wednesday, Raheel struck a hat-trick while Dhamu and Veera Tamizhan scored a brace each.

Abhron, Mahendran and Ganesh got a goal apiece for the winning team. Indian Bank (Chennai) finished second in Pool B with 12 points from five matches, thanks to a 4-2 win over GST & Central Excise (Chennai) in its final group game.

Somanna netted all four goals for Indian Bank, with Joshua and Raja getting on the scoresheet for GST & Central Excise. Integral Coach Factory (Chennai) topped the pool with 15 points, maintaining a five-match winning streak.

POOL A (4 MATCHES PER TEAM): 1) Challengers – 10 points; 2) IOB – 10; 3) Southern Railway – 6; 4) Loyola College – 3; 5) St Paul’s Combined XI – 0

POOL B (5 MATCHES PER TEAM): 1) ICF – 15 points; 2) IB – 12; 3) GST – 9; 4) SRM – 6; 5) TNPH – 3; 6) Chennai Hockey Association U-21 – 0