Sumeet guides Army Red to semifinals

CHENNAI: The Indian Army took the field against the Indian Air Force in what was a high-scoring affair as Army Red netted six goals to qualify for the semifinal round that is scheduled to be played on Friday.

The Indian Army looked determined approaching the game and started dominating the play right from the very start. Early into the first quarter, Ulsan Mundu found space and took a shot that was deflected in close quarters by an in-form Sumeet Pal Singh, giving Army Red the early lead. Things started to get worse thereafter as Manish Rajbhar took his chance and slotted the second goal for Army Red. 15 minutes into the game, Sumeet was in the thick of things once again when Ulsan Mundu found space down the left and crossed the ball into the box, and Sumeet comfortably slotted it home, giving Army a three-goal lead going into the second quarter.

Army started the second quarter with the same intensity, and they were awarded the first penalty corner of the game in the early minutes but they weren’t able to convert it successfully. Halfway into the second quarter, Harman Singh capitalised on a chance and slotted it home, scoring his first goal of the match. Harman Singh went on to score another goal in the 44 minute of the game.

In a rare opportunity, Jagat Nachappa of the Indian Air Force found space to score a solitary goal, but his shot didn’t have enough prowess to test the Army’s defence. At the end of the third quarter, the Indian Air Force was trailing Army Red by five goals. In the fourth quarter Army Red came close to scoring another goal with Sumeet and Manish combining well, but weren’t able to apply the finish they had wanted despite that Sumeet scored his third goal of the match in the 49 minute, securing Army Red a berth in the semifinals of the Murugappa Hockey Gold Cup with a thumping win of 6-0 scoreline over the Indian Air Force.

Speaking to DT Next after the game, “It has been a good campaign, and I feel very happy scoring hat-tricks in back-to-back games,” says Sumeet Pal Singh.

Speaking about the team’s performance, Summet adds that the team has a different strategy for each game they approach, and for the upcoming semifinals, there will be a different strategy, and we will play according to that. Sumeet also expressed his disappointment about the multiple chances the team weren’t able to convert during the match and believes that the team won’t repeat those mistakes in the next match. Sumeet also expressed his gratitude to the Chennai crowd that has been turning out to voice its support for the Army Red team at the tournament.

The Indian Army Red will play Hockey Karnataka in the second semifinal at 6:00 PM at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Hockey Stadium in Chennai.