Formidable Indian Airlines struck five goals in the second half to outplay Border Security Force 5-2 and register their second straight victory in Pool 'A' and make it to the semi-finals of the 17th Lal Bahadur Shastri hockey tournament at the Shivaji stadium in Delhi on Thursday.
Indian Airlines joined Bharat Petroleum in the semi-finals. The match between the two will decide who will emerge as pool winners.
Trailing 0-1 in the first half, after Varinderjit Singh scored for BSF from a penalty-corner in the ninth minute, Brojen Singh restored parity for Indian Airlines in the 38th minute.
Mercurial Dhanraj Pillay and Jalwinder Singh put Indian Airlines ahead, scoring in the 46th and 51st minutes respectively before Swaranjit Singh's brace (54th and 62nd minutes) made the second session a no-contest.
BSF pulled one back in the 61st minute through Ranjit Singh.
In another match, Namdhari XI downed Air India 1-0 in Pool 'B', Gurpreet Singh scoring the all-important goal from a penalty-corner in the 26th minute.
Pool 'B' is wide open with Namdhari XI leading with four points.
Air India are a close second with three points and Indian Oil third with two, while Punjab National Bank are at the bottom with one point.
Two matches -- Indian Oil vs Air India and PNB vs Namdhari XI -- are left to be played in Pool 'B'.
