Chandigarh Dynamos beat Sher-e-Jalandhar

Local favourites Chandigarh Dynamos began their campaign in style beating an off-colour Sher-e-Jalandhar 2-0 in the Tier I match of the Premier Hockey League II in Chandigarh on Sunday.

Deepak Thakur drew first blood in the 31st minute when he made the best use of a lapse in defence just outside the 'D' and easily took the ball to put it past the Shers' goalkeeper.

For the Dynamos, who dominated throughout the match to hand over a second successive defeat to the Shers, skipper Rajpal Singh churned out excellent performance and led from the front.

Dynamos' custodian Baljit Singh did a brilliant job while Sukbir Singh Gill stamped his presence with a superb show of thwarting many an attack with timely interceptions.

Just five minutes before the hooter, Dynamos struck again. Tejbir sent a defence-splitting cross and Rajpal put the ball in through an exquisite deflection from the right to leave Shers' custodian Maninder Singh stunned.

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The star-studded Shers, who boasted a line-up of seven Olympians besides many other internationals, struggled to put up a decent show. Their skipper Gagan Ajit Singh failed to find his form as the midfield could not initiate moves. Left-winger Prabhjot Singh and inside forward Baljit Singh Dhillon also were insipid.

Shers tried to make a comeback in the third quarter but Dynamos' defenders Sandeep Singh and Jugraj Singh were tough to beat.

Shers, who are yet to open their account, will play their third match against Hyderabad Sultans on January 12 while Dynamos, who got three points from this win, will take on Maratha Warriors the next day.