Petroleum Sports Promotion Board Win Inter-Department Nationals
Petroleum Sports Promotion Board (PSBP) won their second domestic crown in recent times – winning the 1st Hockey India Inter-Department Senior Men’s Nationals, nosing out Railway Sports Promotion Board (RSPB) by the odd goal in three in a closely-contested final clash at Bengaluru.
ReadRailways-PSPB to Meet in Inter-Department Men Nationals Final
The latest title win comes close on the heels of Petroleum Sports Promotion Board – coached by former Olympian Deepak Thakur – winning the 1st Chhaju Ram Memorial Senior Men’s Hockey Tournament, where they edged out Services 4-3. For Railway Sports Promotion Board, this was their second runners-up finish this season after they had finished second-best in the Senior Nehru Hockey Tourney at Hyderabad. The Railway outfit had won the Surjit Hockey Tournament and Lal Bahadur Shastri Hockey Tourney held at Jallandhar and New Delhi.
Read Inter-Department Men Nationals: SAI, Railways, PSPB, PNB Reach Semifinals
Former international fullback Diwakar Ram put Petroleum Sports Promotion Board ahead in the second quarter. Railway Sports Promotion Board had to wait until the closing stages of the third quarter for the equaliser via Olympian Nilakanta Sharma. Just when the match would stretch into a shootout, Sunil Yadav produced the match-clincher for the Birendra Lakra-led Petroleum Sports Promotion Board – his 4th goal of the tournament.
Punjab National Bank pipped Sports Authority of India (SAI) 6-2 to finish third – they rode on a brace from Sukhjeet Singh, Abhishek and Satender Kumar – Rimanshu also scored a brace for SAI.
