Haryana crowned champions

Olympian Sandeep Singh and Mandeep Antil scored on either side of the break as Haryana pipped Karnataka 2-1 in a thrilling final to annex the Senior National Hockey Championship title at the Aishbagh Stadium here today.

Earlier Prabhdeep Singh struck twice as Punjab thrashed Jharkhand 4-1 to emerge third.

Sandeep put Haryana ahead converting a short corner in the 13th minute and Karnataka equalised through another India international V Raghunath’s drag flick in the 40th minute. Mandeep struck the winner in the 52nd minute to seal the issue.

Karnataka upped the ante during the last part of the match but their well conceived moves failed to yield any desired result due to lack of finish. The final saw fast-paced and exciting hockey from both teams. The rivals tested each other and were always trying to get one up over their rivals.

It was also a contest between two highly-rated drag flickers – Sandeep and Raghunath. The Karnataka defender beat Sandeep to emerge as tournament’s top scorer with 12 goals while the Haryana player finished with 11. — PTI