Pune (Maharashtra), 26 April 2015: The 5th Senior National Hockey Championship 2015 (Men) Div- A, being played at Pune, Maharashtra, today witnessed an intense battle between four teams to book a berth in the finals.

Reaching the finals of the tournament, Railway will be seen battling against Uttar Pradesh Hockey to fight for the title while Air India and Hockey Gangpur-Odisha will be fighting for the 3rd and 4th position.

The crucial day for the teams begun with a victory for Railways which pulled down Air India Sports Promotion Board 6-4 making their way to the finals. The second Semi-final clash was a one sided game which resulted in favour of Uttar Pradesh Hockey who was seen defeating Hockey Gangpur –Odisha 3-0 and to march for the finale clash.

The first semi final clash of the day between Air India and Railways was a closely-fought battle which turned in favour of Railways defeated the opponents with 6-4 and confirmed their presence for the Final clash. Air India started the proceedings of the day when Gaganpreet Singh converted a penalty corner in the 17th minute and won confidence for the team. This called for pay back from Railways which soon retaliated by striking two field goals in the 28th minute and 30th minute coming from Malak Singh and Yuvraj Walmiki respectively ending the first half in their favour with a lead of 2-1. The excitement was on its peak in the second half itself as both the teams were eyeing every opportunity to surpass each other which resulted into goals at short intervals. In the 35th minute of the game it was yet again Yuvraj Walmiki who smashed an excellent field goal for Railway Sports Promotion taking them ahead towards victory. Not delaying it much, Air Indian Sports Promotion Board came back into form with a penalty corner converted by Sameer Dad in the 40th minute. Hereon, the game was a forceful competition, both the teams striving hard to enter into the finals. A penalty stroke awarded to Railway Sports Promotion Board was converted by Amit Rohidas in the 44th minute which was followed by a field goal in the very next minute by Vikram Pillay of Air India Sports Promotion board declaring the game as a tough war. Another gain for Air India Sports Promotion Board came in when Arjun Halappa converted a Penalty stroke in the 47th minute proving that Air India Sports Board left no pages unturned to beat the opponents aiming to march ahead towards the finals. Amit Rohidas again won a score for the team in the 52nd minute by beautifully converting a penalty corner followed by Yuvraj Walmiki, the star boy who left the opponents stunned with another field goal in the 54th minute announcing an entry for Railway Sports Promotion Board into the finals with a score of 6-4.

It was not very difficult for Uttar Pradeh Hockey to claim a place in the finals as they blanked the opponents Hockey Gangpur-Odisha 3-0. The game initiated on an easy note with Uttar Pradesh Hockey winning the first goal of the match which was a penalty corner converted by Sunil Yadav in the 7th minute. Gangpur Odisha tried hard to strike a goal for the team to end the first half with an equal score, however, the first half ended in favour of Uttar Pradesh Hockey which was leading with 1-0. The second half of the game again was an excellent display of hockey skills by Uttar Pradesh Hockey leaving no scope for the opponents to bounce back. The second goal from Uttar Pradesh Hockey came in the 32nd minute by Sunil Yadav who converted a penalty stroke for the team taking them ahead towards victory. In the 44th minute of the game Sunil Yadav from Uttar Pradesh Hockey outshined as an asset for the team by converting another penalty corner with which the team marched towards finals with a leading score 3-0.

The finals clash of The 5th Senior National Hockey Championship 2015 (Men) Div – A will be telecast LIVE and exclusive on DD Sports.

Results of the day:

1st Semi Final– Railway Sports Promotion Board 6 Malak Singh (28min-FG) Yuvraj Walmiki (30min-FG,35min-FG,54min-FG), Amit Rohidas (44min-PS,52min-PC) vs Air India Sports Promotion Board 4 Gaganpret Singh (17min-PC),Sameer Dad (40min-PC), Vikram Pillay (45min-FG), Arjun Halappa(45min-PS)

2nd Semi Final-Hockey Uttar Pradesh 3 Sunil Yadav (11min-PC,32 min- PS, 44min-PC) vs Hockey Gangpur-Odisha 0