Kerala, February 11, 2015: In the four hockey matches
played for the finals and 3rd/4th place playoffs at the 35thNational
Games, the crowd at New Hockey Stadium (Kollam) witnessed a number of
enthralling and gripping games between the teams who employed their fine-tuned
approaches and tricks of the trade with an intention to defeat the opponent and
secure the titles.
Women from Punjab overcame
Haryana 3-1 to get the gold as Haryana women had to settle for silver. In the
playoffs for the 3rd / 4th place, it was Jharkhand women who beat
Odisha 2-0 to take home the bronze.
Services Sports Control Board registered a huge win of 8-2
over Odisha to pocket the gold as Odisha settled for silver. In the playoffs,
the men from Haryana overcame Jharkhand 7-6 in the penalty shoot out to grab
the bronze.
The first hockey final of the 35th National Games saw
Punjab Women team dominating their game with Haryana, defeating them 3-1 to
make their way to the gold. Punjab was awarded
a penalty corner 30 minutes into the match as Manmeet Kaur took the strike.
Manmeet scored the first goal for her team as the ball found gap between the
sturdy guards of Haryana goalkeeper and reached for the nets.
Next, Hardeep
Kaur doubled the score for Punjab in the
closing minutes of first half as the scores stood at 2-0. Punjab
was again granted a penalty corner in the 38th minute as the team once
again banked on their very efficient Manmeet Kaur to take the strike.
Showcasing her experience and fine conversion abilities, Manmeet converted the
penalty corner into the third goal of the game, living up to the expectations
of her teammates and giving her side a lead of 3-0. Devika Sen of Haryana
managed to score the lone goal for the team as she successfully converted a
penalty corner in the 55th minute. With no additional goals scored later,
the final scoreboard showed a score of 3-1, declaring a golden win for Punjab eves as Haryana settles for a silver.
In the Men’s final match, Services Sports Control Board
routed Odisha men 8-2 to reach for the gold. Although Deepanshu Bhargav of
Odisha scored a remarkable early goal in the 2nd minute, Siraj struck back
in the sixth minute to convert a penalty corner and level the score. Next,
Mukesh Kakra and Ved Prakash scored a goal each, in the 13th and 17th minute
to take the score to 3-1, with SSCB in the lead.
Men from SSCB continuously
breached the defence of Odisha as Davinder Singh and Jaspreet Singh scored a
couple of goals, one after the other, in the 26th and 29thminute respectively.
By the end of the first half, the score stood at 5-1 with SSCB leading the
scoreboard.
The second half began more intensely as Odisha looked at making a
comeback in the game. Dominating the field of play, SSCB continued to create
scoring opportunities as Binay Bhengra pierced in a field goal in the 44th minute
closely followed by a goal from Navneet Swarnakar of Odisha, who sliced in the
second goal for his team. Undeterred by this comeback, Chandan Aind and Ved
Prakash scored again in the 54th and 66th minute to give SSCb an
insuperable score of 8-2 and gold at the National Games.
In the playoffs early morning, women from Jharkhand voided
Odisha 2-0 to win the bronze and bring laurels to their home state. The match
began on a high with the two teams challenging each others’ defence and trying
to sneak-in a goal to attain a lead in the game.
With a near perfect defence
line-up from both the ends, no goals were scored for long until Jharkhand was
awarded a penalty corner in the concluding minutes of the first half. Realising
the worth of this chance, Basanti took the strike and efficiently converted it
into the initial goal, giving her side a lead of 1-0 before the end of first
half. In the subsequent half, Jharkhand put in their best efforts to maintain
the lead and score further as Odisha women were seen trying to score and level
the game.
In the 57th minute, it was Kanti from Jharkhand who pierced
through the sturdy defence of Odisha and put the ball in the mesh to double the
lead for her team. Although Odisha struggled to score through the entire game,
they could not open their scoring account as Jharkhand blanked them 2-0 to win
the bronze.
Men’s playoff had Haryana and Jharkhand giving a tough time
to each other as the two looked out for chances to score, restricting the
opposite team from entering their D and finish with a bronze for their state in
the National Games. While the in-form player from Haryana-Yudhvir Singh
continued to perform his best and scored the first goal for his team, a penalty
corner conversion, in the 33rd minute, the score was soon equalled
by a goal from Anup Topno of Jharkhand in the dying moments of first half.
With
an equal score of 1-1, the second half began with ascended fervour as Amit
Kumar of Haryana converted a penalty corner and doubled the score for his team
in the 49th minute. Cutting short their celebration, Bhushun Kujur of
Jharkhand scored a leveller in the 54th minute, tying the score at 2-2 as
the full time ended in a draw taking the game further into the shoot out phase.
Neol Dodroi, Anup Topno, Arvind Kujur and Nitesh Kiro scored a goal each for Jharkhand
in the shoot out as Amit Kumar, Shivdeep, Munish Rana and Joga Singh scored for
Haryana. Finally, it was a goal from the stick of the very talented Naveen
Antil that handed over the bronze to Haryana as Jharkhand settled for the
fourth place.
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