Kohima. Nov. 12: Defending champions Punjab Police stormed into the semifinals of the Royal Gold Cup football tournament drubbing Lajong F.C. Shillong 4-0 in the last quarterfinal played here today.

Even with incessant rains turning the conditions in favour of the Shillong team, the latter were no match for favourites Punjab Police.

Punjab Police gained an upper hand early in the match when Sumit Bali scored the first goal from a great pass by Harish Kumar. Good co-ordination and short swift passes failed to bail out Lajong as the Punjab team, with nine Santosh Trophy players and international star Parveen Kumar, continued with their offensive.

In the latter part of the first half, Punjab Police were awarded a penalty kick after Parveen was brought down in the penalty box area and Gurpreet Singh shot home the second ball for the defending champions.

Harish Kumar and Gurpreet scored the third and fourth goals for Punjab Police respectively. Lajong missed several opportunities by dribbling the ball instead of kicking it.

The first semifinal between Assam Regimental Centre and Manipur Police will be played tomorrow while Punjab Police will take on SSB New Delhi on Thursday.