Saifai (Uttar Pradesh), 1 May 2015: Entering the semi-finals stage of the 5th Senior Women National Championship 2015 (Division A), the teams displayed the finest hockey skills on the grounds of Saifai, Uttar Pradesh today.
In the semi-final clash scheduled for tomorrow, Railway Sports Promotion Board will play against Hockey Punjab in Semi-Final 1 whereas, and Madhya Pradesh Hockey Academy will lock horns with Hockey Jharkhand in Semi- Final 2.
The day witnessed four interesting clashes where Hockey Jharkhand beat Assam Hockey 10-1 to reach the semi- finals of the tournament. The second match of the day. Hockey Karnataka held Uttar Pradesh Hockey at a 1-1 draw. In the third match of the day, Hockey Punjab enters the semi-finals by defeating Hockey Kerala 10-2. The day concluded with a win in favour of The Mumbai Hockey Association Ltd who drubs Hockey Bhopal by 6-2.

In a one sided match between Hockey Jharkhand and Assam Hockey, it was the former who thumped the latter with a huge goal margin of 10-1. Hockey Jharkhand opened their account in the 8th minute of the game when Birsi Mundu scored a brilliant field goal and gave an early lead to her team. After three minutes, Basanti Kachhap utilized the penalty corner and extended the lead when he smashed the ball in the goal-box to take the score-line to 2-0. Hockey Jharkhand was seen in full action as they continued to assert pressure to Assam Hockey and restricted them to convert scoring opportunities. By successfully converting a penalty stroke Anima Minz of Hockey Jharkhand managed to score the third goal for her team in the 12th minute which was closely followed by Etwari Mundu who struck a 13th minute goal through a penalty corner. Hockey Jharkhand advanced their lead to 6-0 when two more goals were added by Nisha Rani Aind and Poonam Madhuri in the 24th and 27thminute respectively. With the end of the first half, Hockey Jharkhand was leading against Assam Hockey who failed to open their score card and the score board read 6-0. Continuing the same spirit in second half, Hockey Jharkhand played with full force Sabnam Lakra and Basanti Kachhap contributed two goals in the 37th and 44th minute respectively to take the score-line to 8-0. Hockey Jharkhand scored two back to back goals by the efforts of Birsi Mundu and Anima Minz in the 50th and 52nd minute respectively which escalated their lead to 10-0. However in 55th minute, Assam hockey finally found the nets when Moully Yadav managed to earn a goal for her team and changed the score board reading by 10-1 but it was too late as Hockey Jharkhand stood successful in beating Assam Hockey 10-1.

Another intense match of Pool C was witnessed between Hockey Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh Hockey who held each other at a 1-1 draw. The match saw tremendous action coming in from both the sides.The teams were not wanting to give an early lead to each other and the first half ended on a dry run for both the teams. The second half started with the same energy and it was Ranjitha A K who broke the shackles in the 48th minute taking an early lead 1-0. Very confident Uttar Pradesh Hockey stood successful and scored a brilliant equalizer in the 57th minute through Reena Devi which concluded the match with a 1-1 draw.

In a Pool D match dominated by Hockey Punjab, Hockey Punjab trounced Kerala Hockey 10-2. . Both the teams were seen striving to score in the first few minutes of the game. However, it was Navpreet Kaur from Hockey Punjab who initiated the chain of goals in the early third minute of the game. Within just five minutes of the first goal, Gurjit Kaur scored the second goal in the eighth minute for Hockey Punjab and doubled the lead to 2-0. Continuing to assert pressure on Kerala Hockey, it was Pooja Rani who very efficiently converted a penalty stroke in the 17thminute of the game. The game seem to be in favour of Hockey Punjab as Gurjit Kaur struck two consecutive field goals in the 20th and 25th minute of the game taking the lead to 5-0. Hockey Punjab confirmed a tough game for the opponents by striking another field goal coming from Ramandeep Kaur in the 27th minute of the game followed by excellent penalty corner conversion by Gurjit Kaur in the 28th minute. Just before going to the half time, Kerala Hockey finally managed to open its score card through Anjali Abraham who struck the opening goal for her team through a penalty stroke in the 29th minute of the game and took the scores to 1-7. Within a minute into the second half, it was Navpreet Kaur from Hockey Punjab who added the eighth goal to his team in the 36th minute through a penalty corner conversion. Kerala Hockey bounced back through Vismaya A who scored a 47th minute field goal but Hockey Punjab stood tall to retaliate and the team scored two goals coming from Sukhjit Kaur and Meenakshi in the 56thand 58th minute respectively. With this, the game concluded in favour of Hockey Punjab who defeated Kerala Hockey 10-2.

In the Pool D match, The Mumbai Hockey Association Ltd. outplayed Hockey Bhopal by 6-2 in a one-sided clash. Mumbai drew the first blood when they earned a penalty corner in the 9th minute and Pinky Thokchom converted into an early lead. However, the joy was short-lived as Bhopal’s Ritusha Arya scored a brilliant goal in the 11th minute to equalise the score-line by 1-1. Mumbai team fought back when Rituta Rijutai sneaked into the opponent’s half and hit the ball hard into the goal-box in 24th minute to take a lead. After the inspiring goal, Mumbai scored two back-to-back goal in 27th and 28th minute with the help of Sarita Minz and Krishna Patel respectively. Continuing the aggressive game, Mumbai earned another penalty corner in 44th minute, which was effectively converted by Rituta and took the score-card to 5-1. Mumbai scored their sixth goal in 57th minute when Navneet Kaur dribbled past the opponents and sent the ball in the nets. In the dying minutes, Bhopal showed some resistance and skipper Ranjita Sanasam scored a consolation goal in the 59th minute. Mumbai post a thumping 6-2 victory over Bhopal.

Results of the day-

Pool C Hockey Jharkhand 10 Birsi Mundu (8min- FG, 50min- FG), Basanti Kachhap (11min- PC, 44min- PC), Anima Minz (12min- PS, 52min- FG), Etwari Mundu (13min- PC), Nisha Rani Aind (24min- FG), Poonam Madhuri (27min- PC), Sabnam Lakra (37min- FG) vs Assam Hockey 1 Moully Yadav (55min- FG)
Pool C Hockey Karnataka 1 Ranjitha A K (48min- FG) vs Uttar Pradesh Hockey 1 Reena Devi (57min- FG)

Pool D Hockey Punjab 10 Navpreet Kaur (3min- FG, 36min- PC), Gurjit Kaur (8min- FG, 20min- FG, 25min- FG, 28min- PC), Pooja Rani (17min- PS), Ramandeep Kaur (27min- FG), Sukhjit Kaur (56min-FG), Meenakshi (58min- PC) vs Kerala Hockey 2 Anjali Abraham (29min- PS), Vismaya A (47min- FG)
Pool D The Mumbai Hockey Association Ltd. 6 Pinky Thokchom (14min-PC), Rituta Rijutai (24min-FG, 44min-PC), Sarita Minz (27min-FG), Krishna Patel (28min-FG), Navneet Kaur (57min-FG) vs Hockey Bhopal 2 Ritusha Arya (11min-FG), Ranjita Sanasam (59min-FG)