India beat Netherlands in shoot-out in second match to lead FIH Pro League points table
Bhubaneswar: India made a dream debut at the FIH Pro League, beating world number three Netherlands 3-1 in the shoot-out after both the teams were locked 3-3 at the end of regulation time in the second match of the two-leg tie here on Sunday.
World number five India had earlier defeated Netherlands 5-2 in the opening match of the tie on Saturday.
India are now atop the leaderboard with five points from two games, but the Manpreet Singh-led side conceded a point to the Netherlands after drawing (during the regulation time) the second match of the contest on Sunday.
As per the new rules implemented by the International Hockey Federation (FIH) in the second edition of the Pro League, every match of a tie has to produce a result.
In case of a draw, the match would be decided by shoot-out and the side which wins will garner two points and the losing team will get one point.
Mink van der Weeden (23rd minute) scored from a penalty corner, while Jeroen Hertzberger (26th) and Bjorn Kellerman (27th) scored two field goals for the visitors in the regulation time.
Lalit Upadhyay (25th), Mandeep Singh (51st) and Rupinder Pal Singh (55th) were the goal getters for the home team.
In the shoot-out, Vivek Sagar Prasad, Akashdeep Singh and Gujrant Singh were on target for the Indians but Harmanpreet Singh and Rupinder missed.
Mirco Pruijser was the lone scorer for the Dutch as Glenn Schuurman, Thierry Brinkman and Jeroen Hertzberger missed their targets during the shoot-out.
The Indians started from where they left on Saturday and created a lot of chances from the beginning but it was Netherlands who stunned the capacity crowd by taking the lead in the second quarter.
Netherlands took the lead when Van der Weerden converted a penalty corner, flicking into the roof of the net from the top of the circle in the 23rd minute.
The Indians bounced back within minutes when Lalit scored from close range to level the scores.
But India's joy was shortlived as Netherlands restored their lead a minute later through Hetrzberger, who scooped home from close range.
To make matters worse for the hosts, the Netherlands extended their lead a minute later when Kellerman fired home from close range to go into half time with a commanding 3-1 lead.
After the change of ends, India pushed hard in search of goals and in the process created a few bright chances, including a few penalty corners but to no avail as the third quarter yielded no goal.
Trailing by two goals, India continued to step up the pressure on the Netherlands defence and finally managed to beat it in the 51st minute when Mandeep fired from a rebound from a penalty corner.
India continued in the same vein and within three minutes secured another penalty corner which was dully converted by Rupinder to level the scores.
Thereafter, both the teams pressed hard for the winner and the Dutch came close two minutes from final hooter when they secured another penalty corner but it was well defended by the Indians as the match went into shoot-out.
After the Netherlands, India will host world champions Belgium on February 8 and 9 followed by two more home ties against Australia on February 22 and 23.
The Indian team will then leave for the away games in Germany (April 25 and 26) and Great Britain (May 2 and 3).
India will return to play on home soil on May 23 and 24 against New Zealand before travelling to Argentina to play on June 5 and 6.
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Karnataka Assembly passes bill on Palace Grounds amid opposition protest
Bengaluru, Mar 6 (PTI): The Karnataka Assembly on Thursday passed the Bangalore Palace (Utilisation and Regulation of Land) Bill, reaffirming state ownership over 472 acres and 16 guntas of land here, amid protests by the opposition BJP.
During the discussion, Karnataka Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H K Patil said the state government would have to provide Rs 200 crore worth of Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) for each acre of land, which means that for 15 acres, Rs 3,000 crore worth of TDR would be issued.
“If we accept it, then this 2-km stretch of road will become the costliest road in the world. If we accept it then how are we going to develop the city in later stages? How will you carry out development works?” asked Patil.
He also pointed out that this question was raised not only under the Congress government but also during the previous BJP regime.
However, the BJP-led cabinet has opposed the project.
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“Suppose we agree to it then, what will be the valuation of the 472 acres? It will be lakhs and lakhs of crores of rupees. Can we accept?” Patil wondered.
The Minister said the government had previously exercised its executive powers to issue an ordinance, which was approved by the Governor. Now the government is bringing a bill with two amendments.
“In this bill, we have made provisions either to develop or drop the road development work,” Patil explained.
However, BJP state president B Y Vijayendra and BJP MLA Arvind Bellad opposed the move, alleging that the government was targetting Yaduveer Krishna Datta Chamaraja Wadiyar, the scion of the Mysuru royal family, and the BJP MP from Mysuru-Kodagu constituency out of political vendetta.
“We talk of 472 acres of Mysuru Maharaja but here there are many Maharajas who too own 400 acres, 500 acres and thousands of acres of land, which is known to everyone,” Bellad said.
He slammed the Congress government, saying political power should not be misused for personal vendetta.
“Why (the then Deputy Chief Minister) Siddaramaiah brought the law in 1996 pertaining to the Bangalore Palace? Why are you setting eyes on the Bangalore Palace?” he asked.
Vijayendra charged that Wadiyar won the election on BJP ticket so the state government realised that it should acquire it.
“This bill has been brought for political vengeance. We are not discussing whether Rs 3,000 crore is exorbitant or not but the moment Yaduveer became MP, the state government woke up. You should be ashamed. This house should not be used for political vendetta,” he said.
Intervening, Minister Priyank Kharge said Vijayendra should not have raised it because the intention behind building the road was noble.
According to him, the BJP too had the same plan when it was in power.
He sought to know whether thousands of crores of rupees be spent on a road which should have cost significantly less.
In response, BJP MLA B A Basavaraj (Byrathi) said issuing TDR will not be a burden on the state government and appealed to the ruling Congress to reconsider its stance.
Minister Ramalinga Reddy too explained that the Karnataka government acquired the entire land way back in 1996.
The Mysuru royal family went to the High Court, which gave ruling in favour of the state government. The royal family then approached the Supreme Court, where the case is still going on, the Minister pointed out.
“The final judgment is pending in the SC to decide whether the acquisition was right or wrong. If the SC says it’s the royal family’s property then let it be so. If the order is in the state government’s favour then we can take a decision. The bill is only about it,” Reddy explained.
Speaker U T Khader then called for a voice vote and the bill was passed by the Assembly amidst opposition BJP’s discontent.
