The Tribune: Punjab girls beat Haryana 4-0 to win national title
Punjab thrashed defending champions Haryana 4-0 in the final of the junior women’s hockey National Championship (Division A) in Ranchi.
Punjab, who finished third in last year’s edition, won all their matches with huge margins on their way to the crown.
Punjab beat Bhopal 4-0, Mumbai 14-0 and Chhattisgarh 12-0 in the pool games.
They thrashed Jharkhand 7-1 in the semifinals to avenge their 5-2 defeat to the same opposition in the semis of the last year’s edition.
Jharkhand beat Odisha 3-1 to finish third.
Punjab boys start with win
The Punjab boys started their bid to reclaim the title with a rusty win over Madhya Pradesh Hockey Academy (MPHA) in the junior men’s hockey National Championship (Division A) in Raipur on Monday.
An “under-par” Punjab came from a goal down to beat MPHA 3-1.
Punjab, who lost last year’s final 4-3 to Odisha after winning the title for three years in row, missed many chances.
They fell behind after a sluggish start. Ajmer Singh equalised and Dilpreet Singh gave Punjab the lead before the half-time.
The Punjab boys were wasteful in the second half. Ajmer completed his brace to seal the match for his team.
“It was an under-par performance. They missed too many chances; could have scored five-six more goals,” said Punjab coach Avtar Singh. “But what’s important is that we got the win despite not playing to our potential. We are still recovering from the two days of travelling and it is very hot here. So, it was an important win. We should improve in our next match,” he added.
Only the winner of the pool will make it to the semifinals. Punjab take on Uttar Pradesh, who lost 4-2 to Gangpur-Odisha, in their next match tomorrow.
National hockey
Chandigarh boys enter semis
Chandigarh entered the semifinals of the junior men’s hockey National Championship (Division B) in Raipur. The Chandigarh boys beat Dadra and Nagar Haveli 3-0 in the quarterfinals to set up a semis clash with Maharashtra tomorrow. Maharashtra thrashed Mizoram 10-1. Delhi edged out Puducherry 3-2 to set up a clash with Mumbai, who eased past Bengaluru 4-0.