Defending Champions Jharkhand Defeat Uttarakhand

Defending Champions Jharkhand Defeat Uttarakhand

Goa :

The defending champions Hockey Jharkhand defeated Hockey Uttarakhand 5-1, in the 12th Hockey India sub-junior men’s National championship played at Hockey Astro Turf, at Peddem Sports Complex, Mapusa, Goa on Friday.

The game started at a slow pace with both the teams having equal possession. In the second quarter Jharkhand scored but the joy was short lived as a counter goal from Uttarakhand cancelled the lead.

Jharkhand doubled the lead in the third quarter and went on to score three more goals later in the last quarter with a great display of sportsmanship combined with incredible possession and skills, Uttarakhand on the other hand couldn’t catch up with the Jharkhand offence losing possession most of the time.

In another match, Hockey Haryana defeated Chhattisgarh Hockey 4-0, the game started well off with both teams showing great offensive and defensive gameplay with the possession slightly more towards Haryana, things got a lot more rocky for Chhattisgarh when Haryana scored a banger goal completely shattering the confidence of Chhattisgarh in the entire 1st quarter.

The 3rd quarter was a total game changer for Haryana as they scored two back to back goals destroying the Chhattisgarh defence and gaining total control over the game. The last quarter saw Haryana scoring another goal as the match ended 4-0.

Later in the day, Uttar Pradesh Hockey trashed Hockey Bengal 6-1. The Uttar Pradesh side scored in the 13th minute and the 16th minute as Bengal seemed good with their offence but struggled with the defence. The second quarter was also on the UP side where they managed to score three more, piling more misery on the Bengal side.

Later, UP scored another goal with a great counter attack, Bengal did manage to score a consolation in the dying minutes of the game as the scoreboard read 6-1 at full-time.

The young men of Kerala and Mizoram led by skippers Soorya Rajendran and Lalnunsanga respectively played a spectacular match resulting in a breeze of cheer, however, the Kerala side managed to dominate the proceedings as they scored 10 past the Mizoram outfits.

After an electrifying goal by Kerala’s Muhammed Kaif, Lalrinhlua of Mizoram got a green card for transgressing the rules. Even after Mizorams dynamic defence Amit Lakra and Shalik K S put their skills to a test as they scored impactful goals in the second quarter. With an impressive performance by the team, Soorya then motivated the team with a beaming goal and Kaif added another to the tally.

Leading the lines for Hockey Association of Odisha Arbin Toppo speared the first goal of the match that encouraged Yojin Minz and Irengbam Singh that proved the result of every sweat they bled for practises. Leading the score board Aryan Xess, a very zealous player continued to chaperone Odisha with complete enthusiasm to knock down Andhra’s defense. Odisha defeated Andhra Pradesh 18-0.