Services upset Punjab to win hockey gold

Guwahati, Feb 18 (UNI) Service shocked Punjab 2-1 in the final to win men's hockey gold in the 33rd National Games here today.

It was a sweet revenge for Services as they have consistently been beaten by the mercurial Punjab team in their last three outings.

Playing on a cool sunny day and in front of 7,000 boisterous crowd, Services found two unlikely hero in Rinel Singh Khadangbam and Eliazer Lakra who peaked at the right time of the Games and scored their first goals in the competition to give Services the gold.

It was a major upset for the star studded Punjab who after the upset loss to Asom in the opening game stormed back to the final only to lose to Services.

Punjab took the lead in the 20th minute through Daler Singh and held on to it till the lemon break but Services were a different team after the break. They banked on long passes and fast releases and kept on troubling Punjab defence throughout the second half.

Their persistence paid off in the 45th minute when a penalty corner was earned and Rinel Singh made no mistake to hammer in (1-1).

The all-important goal came 11 minutes later when Eliazer Lakra scored another field goal to fetch his side the gold.

Orissa got the bronze defeating hosts Asom 3-2.

UNI