A spirited Bangalore Hi-Fliers played out of their skin to beat Chandigarh Dynamos 2-1 and win the fourth edition of the Premier Hockey League at the Sector 42 stadium in Chandigarh on Friday.
In the keenly-fought third final, High-Fliers' Len Aiyappa (32nd minute) and You Hyo Sik (62nd) scored to help their side regain the title after a gap of one year. Sandeep Singh (69th) netted the consolation goal for Dynamos.
After the come-from-behind title victory, in which the Tushar Khandekar-led side had lost the first of the best-of-three finals, the Bangalore team took home a winner's purse of Rs 40 lakh, while the runners-up bagged Rs 20 lakh prize money.
In the second edition of the tournament in 2006, they had emerged champions as Bangalore Lions.
In a thrilling competition, Bangalore guarded against conceding early goals and their strategy of strong man-to-man marking paid off.
On the other hand, their forwards combined well to initiate several moves. However, Dynamos goalkeeper Baljit Singh made several commendable saves to thwart the Hi-Fliers from taking lead until the dying minutes of the second quarter.
On one occasion Baljit tackled Korean Hyo Sik and on another he stood like a rock to foil a crafty move created by Arjun Halappa, Tushar Khandekar and Hari Prasad.
More from rediff