By Kamesh Srinivasan

JAMMU, DEC. 9. Experience counts. It did in the last few minutes of the day. Air India rode on its experience and established itself in group `II' with its second successive victory, a 2-0 triumph over Indian Oil in the 60th National hockey championship at the K.K. Hakhu Stadium here on Saturday.

On a warm and pleasant day, Indian Railways and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) set up a decisive clash between them in group `I' with two wins each, as they downed the teams from South, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, with ease.

Punjab and Sind Bank (PSB) had the luxury of sharpening itself for the decisive match against Air India, with a target practice against Hyderabad. The four points in two matches, and the seven goals it scored this day may prove futile if the bankmen fail to beat the high-flying airmen on the morrow.

Air India served fatal blows to the aspirations of the young Indian Oil team in the last five minutes after frustrating the rivals with its stubborn defence.

Indian Oil conceded a penalty stroke in a moment of desperation, after fighting valiantly, as the defence fouled Davinder Kumar, who made a menacing move after being set up beautifully by Gavin Ferreira and Viren Rasautnha. Cornelius D'Costa converted the stroke awarded by umpire D.S. Bhandari, by shooting to the right of goalkeeper Devesh Chauhan.

The coup de grace was complete when Alex D'Souza tapped over the goalkeeper off a pass from Roshan Tete, seconds before the hooter.

It was a fine performance by the seasoned Air India, for which Anil Aldrin and Khushmeet Singh were a pillar of strength in the defence. The half-line was equally effective, and forwards Davinder Kumar and Kishore Kumar kept the Oilmen busy.

It was sheer immaturity that cost Indian Oil, as there was no dearth of enthusiasm or energy in its ranks. Skipper Deepak Thakur showed his ability in winning penalty corners, but the team could not convert the four it forced. Inderjit Singh, Kamlesh Kumar and Prabhjot Singh could not raise to the challenge though they toiled hard.

CRPF toys with Tamil Nadu

The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) toyed with Tamil Nadu in scoring a comprehensive victory after leading 1-0 at half-time. Priyo Kumar and V. Hembram were lively on the left flank, and it was no surprise that the two struck a goal each, while Arunjoy Singh completed the tally by converting the team's only penalty corner, by pouncing on a rebound.

Tamil Nadu forced four penalty corners, all in the first half, but was so disjointed overall that it could not get a clear look at the goal in the whole match.

``We were not ready to face the conditions. We should have come early. Of course, there is no excuse as the team played very badly. The players have been together for the last two years, but we were not able to play as a team,'' said the coach of the Tamil Nadu team, C.R. Kumar.

The Tamil Nadu coach was disappointed that his players were not able to play anywhere near their potential, and took the example of Prabhakaran, who was not played in the team's second match. ``Prabhakaran used to cut through so many defenders in Chennai, but could not beat even one here,'' said Kumar.

CRPF coach Satinder Singh was naturally elated. He pointed out that the team was without the services of Mukesh Kumar and Tanveer Jamal, but still played very well. ``It is going to be a good match against Railways to decide the qualifier from the group, and we will fight it out,'' said Satinder Singh.

Forthright win for Railways

Railways played a solid second half after being 1-1 with Karnataka in the first half, to make it a straightforward affair.

It was Karnataka which shot ahead, in the fifth minute, through a penalty corner conversion by Arjun Halappa who capitalised on the rebound following an abortive attempt by Thanu Nanjappa. Railways was shaky initially and missed a penalty stroke through Subal Kumar Barla who shot wide to the left of goalkeeper A.B. Subbaiah. The award of the stroke, by umpire H.S. Sokhi, was itself was contested strongly by the Karnataka camp, but it was clear that Lalit Ekka had been stick-checked by the defence when the former aimed a hit at the goal from close range.

Subal Kumar Barla compensated for his error by striking twice thereafter, once to find the equaliser in the 24th minute and later at the stroke of hooter.

In between, Lalit Ekka also found the target in the 20th minute of the second half as his shot hit the goalkeeper and flew into the goal. Coming after a lot of erratic play, it was a satisfying finish for the Railway team.

Karnataka fought bravely with Jude Felix trying his best. The Karnataka skipper had to stomach the ignominy of being replaced in the National selection panel by the president of the Jammu and Kashmir Hockey Association, Mr. Narinder Batra, following a direction from the IHF president, Mr. K.P.S. Gill. The mistake on the part of Jude Felix was that he was playing for a team, an act unbecoming of a National selector. The team could not answer on behalf of its captain with a good fare.

Punjab and Sind Bank gained momentum in its bid to gain a semifinal berth as it humbled Hyderabad 7-0 after leading 4-0 at the interval. Sandeep Singh Ghuman struck thrice after Parminder Singh had set the tempo with two goals in the space of two minutes midway through the first half.

Ajit Pal Singh and Baljit Singh Chandi also joined in the celebration, putting a goal each against their names.