Saroj’S purple patch in front of the goal continued as she netted a brace to steer Chandigarh to an easy 4-1 win over Mizoram in the National Sub-Junior Hockey Championship (Girls) being organised by Indian Hockey Federation at Bassi Pathana in Fatehgarh Sahib on Friday. Her twin strikes ensured final berth for hosts Chandigarh.

Looking to enter the final, both the teams started on an attacking note. With players from both the sides moving forward to exert pressure on the opposition team, the teams defense faced defensive woes at the back.

Taking advantage of this, Chandigarh forward Shilpa sounded the board to put the team ahead in the sixth minute of the match. After the goal, Saroj remained a constant threat in the opposition half as she tormented the opposition defenders with her sharp reflexes and quick runs.

Her teammate, Saroj, soon doubled the team’s lead in the eight minute through a clinical finish. Saroj’s confidence soared after this and she looked to add another goal to the scoresheet. She didn’t have to wait for long as Saroj grabbed her second goal of the day in the 27th minute of the match.

The Mizoram defenders gave too many space for the Chandigarh eves to dictate their terms. Poonam, meanwhile, scored the fourth goal for the team. For Mizoram, Lalluamwawis managed to pull back one but her effort came too late.

In the other semi-final encounter, Himachal Pradesh booked their place in the final after defeating Haryana 4-2 in the penalty shooutout after the match ended in a 1-1 draw at the end of the regulation time.

The opening minutes of the match saw Haryana forwards making constant attacks into the opposition half but Himachal Pradesh goalkeeper Sheetal thwarted all the effort of the Haryana team. Kavita scored the first goal for the Haryana team in the 20th minute of the match.

However, Kanishka soon scored the equaliser for Himachal Pradesh. At the end of the scheduled play, both the teams were locked at 1-1.

In penalty shoot-out, Priya, Nisha and Shilpa converted for the Himachal Pradesh team while Neha Sharma was the lone player to convert the penalty for Haryana. /