Dominating from the beginning Uttar Pradesh Wizards defeated Kalinga lancers by 4-3 goals and entered the semifinals of the Hockey India league at Kalinga Stadium here on Thursday.
Two goals down in the first quarter the lancers never came to the match again. The star striker of the Wizards Nithin Thimmaiah pushed back lancers in the eighth minute of play. His-mate young Malayalan Gunasekhar’s smart stick work converted a deflection from lancers goalkeeper in to goal in the 17th minute. lalit Upadhaya back hand short defeated Wizards custodian in the 23rd minutes and created bit hope among the players. But Nithin scored his fourth goal of the league and second of the day and team registered a convincing 3-1 lead in the 55th minute. In the fourth quarter, Gagandeep Singh of lancers netted second goal for the team in the 58th minute. However, Peillat Gonzalo successfully converted the penalty corner in the 62nd minute and lancers leveled the score.