Bihar and Puducherry play 2-2 draw

LUCKNOW, September 2, 2012: Ajeet Pandit struck six goals, including a hat-trick to fashion Himachal Pradesh’s emphatic 14-1 win against Rajasthan in a Pool H league match of the 2nd Junior National Men Hockey Championship at the Major Dhyan Chand Stadium in the Guru Govind Singh Sports College here today. The win brightens Himachal Pradesh’s chances of making it to the quarterfinals. Ajeet struck in the 11th, 16th, 27th, 36th, 36th, and 62nd minutes as winners led by 6-0 at the half time. Giving him good support Gyanpreet and Taran Deep scored two goals each while Balram, Prashant, Hardeep and Harmandeep scored one each. For Rajasthan, Harjeet Singh struck the consolation goal in the 51st minute. The day witnessed a shocking exit of spirited Delhi, which lost their second consecutive match in Pool D. Despite having a solitary goal lead early in the game, they went down fighting to young Jharkhand 1-2. Pawan Singh Chauhan put Delhi into lead in the 15th minute through field goal (1-0). In the second half, Delhi boys looked of colour and conceded two goals. Agile Arvind Kujur first converted a penalty corner in the 50thminute to bring parity (1-all), before rounding off the tally with a field goal in the 66th minute. In another match, Suresh Babu emerged star performer for Andhra Pradesh as they routed Goa 9-0 in Pool F. He scored four goals including a hat-trick. Manikanta, Sai, Venkata Rami Reddy and Pradeev scored a goal each. An own goal by Goa also marked the introduction of the new rule in keeping with FIH rules. Last year’s finalists Odisha had a tough start to the championship as they had to struggle to beat Manipur 3-1 in Pool B. The tie, however, lived up to the expectations as both teams gave it their all in the 70-minute encounter. Alsem put Odisha ahead in the seventh minute and Bikash extended the lead in the 20th minute for the team to lead 2-0 at the break. Manipur staged a comeback with a field goal through Amarjeet (66thminute) but Bikash struck a second time two minutes from the hooter to ensure team’s victory. Bihar and Puducherry played a 2-2 draw in pool H. Daisan (1st minute) and Veerathamizhan (50th) scored for Puducherry while Ravi Kumar (8th minute) and Surendra Yadav (28th) slotted the ball home to give Bihar the lead that it held for more than 20 minutes. Monday’s fixtures: Pool B: Tripura vs Odisha (7.00 a.m.); Pool F: MPHA vs Goa (8.30 a.m.); Pool H: Bihar vs Rajasthan (10.00 a.m.); Himachal Pradesh vs Puducherry (3.00 p.m.); Pool D: Uttar Pradesh vs Jharkhand (4.30 p.m.). A Hockey India Press release