Mumbai lifts 63rd Rangaswami Cup

Bhopal: Mumbai lifted the 63rd Rangaswami Cup Senior National Men`s Hockey Championship by defeating Haryana 3-2 in a sensational final played at the Aishbagh Stadium here. This is the fourth time that Mumbai won the tournament since its inception in 1928 while Haryana reached the final for the first time. Earlier, Mumbai had clinched the cup in 1940, 1944 and 1989 by beating Delhi, Gwalior and Punjab respectively. Alden D`Souza of Mumbai was adjudged the Man-of-the-Match for scoring two crucial field goals, one each in both the halves. The first goal was scored by D`Souza in the 22nd minute to give a 1-0 lead to Mumbai last night. Till breather, Mumbai led 1-0. In the second half, Gursev Singh of Mumbai converted a penalty corner and consolidated the lead 2-0 but Haryana reduced the margin to 2-1 through a brilliant field goal by Munish Rana two minutes later.Later, D`Souza of Mumbai netted the ball for the second time in the 53rd minute and gave a 3-1 lead to his team. However, Hansraj of Haryana hit a goal by converting a penalty corner in the 55th minute and minimised the margin to 3-2. After this, Haryana tried their best to equalise the score but could not do so despite getting some good chances and lost the match. PTI