The Tribune: Odisha, Punjab in hockey semis

Title contenders Odisha and Punjab registered easy wins over Delhi and Karnataka, respectively, to advance to the semifinals of the boys’ hockey competition in the Khelo India School Games.

Odisha beat Delhi 5-1 while Punjab thrashed Karnataka 7-1 in the quarterfinals at Dhyan Chand National Stadium.

In the semifinals on Wednesday, Odisha will play Uttar Pradesh and Punjab will face Chandigarh. Uttar Pradesh had beaten Haryana 3-1 while Chandigarh defeated Rajasthan 9-2. In volleyball, Delhi and Bengal grabbed the gold medals in the boys’ and girls’ sections.

In weightlifting, Commonwealth Youth Championship winner Konsam Ormila Devi of Manipur won the gold with a big margin in the girls’ 44kg category.

Ormila lifted a combined total of 137kg, four kg better than 133kg she did in Gold Coast in the Commonwealth meet last September. Ormila lifted 59kg in snatch and 78kg in clean and jerk for a total of 137kg.