Sr Men National Hockey: Odisha to face Haryana in final

Hockey Haryana and Hockey Association of Odisha will contest the final of the 14th Hockey India Senior Men National Championship, winning their respective semifinals on Day 12 at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Hockey Stadium here on Friday.  The two losing teams, Uttar Pradesh Hockey and Manipur Hockey, will compete for third place on Saturday.  

Hockey Haryana defeated Uttar Pradesh Hockey 3-2 in the second semifinal of the day. Hockey Haryana were off to a strong start, finding two goals in the second quarter through Raman (17’) and Abhimanyu (20’). In the third quarter, Rajinder Singh (38’) added to the tally to make it 3-0.

A late surge from Uttar Pradesh Hockey saw Arun Sahani (49’) and Manish Yadav (53’) score in the fourth quarter, however, the equaliser evaded them.

In the first semifinal of the day, the Hockey Association of Odisha defeated Manipur Hockey 4-2. In the first quarter, Nilakanta Sharma (7’) gave Manipur Hockey the lead before Nilam Sanjeep Xess (13’) cut the deficit for the Hockey Association of Odisha.

Shilanand Lakra (20’) gave Odisha the lead in the second quarter before Ganendrajit Ningombam (25’) also found the back of the net to tie the scoreline.

After a goalless third quarter, Prasad Kujur (52’) and Sudeep Chirmako (52’) broke through in quick succession to complete the victory for the Hockey Association of Odisha.