Hockey Haryana defeated host Hockey Maharashtra 1-0 (3-0 SO) in a nail-biting Final to win the 14th Hockey India Senior Women National Championship at the Major Dhyanchand Hockey Stadium Pimpri, Pune.
While Deepika (26’) scored for Hockey Haryana in regulation time, Navneet Kaur, Usha and Sonika scored in the shootout with Captain Savita making three successive saves to claim the victory.
Hockey Haryana applied pressure on its opponents right off the blocks, keeping the ball in Maharashtra’s half for a major part of the first quarter. While Haryana made a few circle penetrations, no goals were scored as the first quarter ended with the score 0-0.
The second quarter started in similar fashion and Haryana was awarded a penalty stroke a little over five minutes into the quarter. Rajani Etimarpu, the goalkeeper for the host, kept the ball out, much to the delight of the fans at the stadium. However, the happiness was short-lived as leading goal-scorer of the tournament Deepika (26’) converted a penalty corner to put Haryana in the lead.
An opportunity presented itself to Haryana to double its lead, but a gritty Hockey Maharashtra defence kept the ball from finding the back of the net. Both teams came close to scoring but neither succeeded as the third quarter ended with Hockey Haryana leading 1-0.
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With a little over six minutes left in the game, Maharashtra found its elusive equalizer with a penalty corner conversion from Akshata Abaso Dhekale (54’), bringing even more excitement into the game. Haryana was awarded a penalty corner with under two minutes left, but failed to score as the game went into a penalty shoot-out with the score reading 1-1.
Navneet Kaur, Usha and Sonika scored for Hockey Haryana in the shootout while Indian Women’s Hockey Team and Haryana’s Captain and goalkeeper Savita made three successive saves as Haryana clinched the Gold at the 14th Hockey India Senior Women National Championship.
Hockey Jharkhand finishes in third place with win over Hockey Madhya Pradesh:
In a late afternoon clash, Hockey Jharkhand defeated Hockey Madhya Pradesh 2-0 to ensure it would finish the tournament at third place for the third year in a row. While both teams have displayed its goal scoring prowess throughout the competition, the ensuing encounter was a low scoring thriller.
Sangita Kumari (3’) broke the deadlock as early as the third minute to give Jharkhand the lead. Despite various measures, Hockey Madhya Pradesh was unable to find the equaliser. Late in the fourth quarter Ropni Kumar (59’) successfully converted a penalty corner to double the lead and seal the victory for her side.
