Punjab Police, Army XI in last four

Formidable Punjab Police and Army XI carved out emphatic victories to sail into the semi-finals of the Indian Oil Servo 109th Beighton Cup hockey tournament in Kolkata on Wednesday.

While Punjab Police thrashed Bombay XI 5-0, Army XI whipped Tamil Nadu XI 5-2 in Group B matches to register their second wins on the trot. The winners of the two matches will lock horns tomorrow to decide the champion and runners-up from the group.

But the upset of the day came in a Group A match, when Corps of Signals pipped title-holders BSF, Jalandhar, 3-2 to put behind the 0-4 drubbing they received at the hands of title contenders Punjab and Sind Bank yesterday.

PSB won their second consecutive game, spanking local outfit Eastern Railway Sports Association 5-0, who are out of the reckoning having lost both their matches.

The group is now interestingly poised with PSB, BSF and Corp of Signals each having collected two points. The semi-finalists from the group will be determined on Friday when PSB take on BSF and Corps of Signals lock horns with ERSA.