Chhota Nagpur to take on Pragmatic in summit clash

Nagpur: State Reserve Police Force didn’t expect it at all. The cops were overwhelming favourites before taking on Chhota Nagpur in the semifinals but they were surprised by the gutsy display of their rivals and bowed out of the VHA ‘B’ Division Hockey League at Hislop College ground here on Friday.

In an exciting fast-paced semifinal, Chhota Nagpur scored two late goals to storm into the final for the first time. They will clash with Pragmatic Club, who edged out Young Police Boys 3-0 via penalty strokes.

The in-form Jiwandan Majhi once again played a crucial role in Chhota Nagpur’s win. The 24-year-old forward struck a brilliant field goal in the 34th minute after a barren first session. Boosted by the goal, Chhota Nagpur added one more six minutes later when David Tete beat SRPF goalkeeper Sachin Darne with a diagonal shot from the right.

SRPF came quite close to reduce the margin on more than three occasions but could not penetrate strong Chhota Nagpur defence, particularly their custodian Bipin Kumar. The cops also failed to utilize their four penalty corners.

Earlier, Pragmatic Club huffed and puffed their way to final when they got the better of Young Police Boys 3-0 via tie-breaker. TNN