Rajnandgaon, Chhattisgarh, 10 May 2015: The 5th Junior National Hockey Championship 2015 (Women) ‘’A’’ Division ended today announcing Hockey Haryana as the winners who bagged the title after outplaying Hockey Jharkhand with 6-1. Whereas, Hockey Punjab pulled down Hockey Odisha with huge margin 7-1 and settled with the third position.

In the Finale clash between Hockey Haryana and Hockey Jharkhand, Hockey Haryana thrashed Hockey Jharkhand with 6-1 and clinched the title of 5th Junior National Hockey Championship 2015 (Women) ‘’A’’ Division. Hockey Haryana showcased confidence from the initial minutes of the game itself scoring their first early goal in the 2nd minute when Manjeet converted a beautiful penalty corner for the team. Very soon in the 9th minute another goal was added to the kitty of Hockey Haryana when Neha struck a field goal into the net. Hockey Jharkhand made continuous efforts to score their first goal, however in the 32nd minute it was yet again Hockey Haryana who bagged another field goal coming from the stick of Saroj. With an excellent performance Hockey Haryana was leading with 3-0 by the end of the first half. With high spirits, Hockey Haryana continued with their admirable team work and added another field goal to their scorecard when Jyoti Gupta in the 44th minute smashed a field goal in support of the team. It was in the 54th minute that Hockey Jharkhand managed to score when Pramila Soren converted a penalty corner for the team. With two more field goals in the 63rd and 65th minute scored by Devika Sen, Hockey Haryana clinched the title defeating Hockey Jharkhand with leading score 6-1.

The crucial hard line battle was won by Hockey Punjab who defeated Hockey Odisha with a massive score 7-1 and grabbed the third position. The initial minutes of the game witnessed intense struggle between both the teams eyeing the first goal of the match. With an excellent field goal by Arminder Kaur in the 11th minute, Hockey Punjab managed to be the first scorer. This was followed by another field goal in the 16th minute coming from the stick of Rajwinder Kaur helping Hockey Punjab to add another goal to their scorecard. Working with their sticks to retaliate for this, Hockey Odisha successfully opened their account in the 22nd minute when Dipti Lakra from the team smartly entered into the opponent’s defence with a field goal. Excitement rolled in when once again Hockey Punjab added to their scorecard with the help of a penalty stroke which was beautifully converted by Manpreet Kaur in the 24th minute. Another field goal came into the kitty of Hockey Punjab when Rajwinder Kaur once again smashed it into the net in the 33rd minute. The first half ended in favour of Hockey Punjab who with their dominance were leading by 4-1 by the end of it. Goals continued to rain in for Hockey Punjab in the second half with two penalty corners been successfully converted by Manpreet Kaur and Ritu in the 39th and 44th minutes respectively. With another field goal resulting from the brilliant stick work of Arminder Kaur in the 62nd minute, Hockey Punjab sealed the third position defeating Hockey Odisha 7-1.

Results of the day

Finals –Hockey Haryana 6 Manjeet (2 min-PC), Neha (9 min-FG), Saroj (32 min- FG), Jyoti Gupta (44min-FG),Devika Sen (63min-FG,65min-FG) Vs Hockey Jharkhand 1 (Pramila Soren –PC)

3/4th Position-Hockey Punjab 7 Arminder Kaur (9min-FG, 62min-FG) Rajwinder Kaur (16 min FG,33 min-FG), Manpreet Kaur (24 min-PS, 39min-PC),Ritu(44min-PC) vs Hockey Odisha 1 (Dipti Lakra 22min-FG)