As the 11th Hockey India Junior Men National Championship 2021, Kovilpatti, Tamil Nadu reached the penultimate stage, Hockey Chandigarh and Uttar Pradesh Hockey registered victories to advance to the final of the competition and set up a mouth-watering clash amongst themselves for the Championship.
In the first semi-final between the Hockey Association of Odisha and Hockey Chandigarh, there was nothing to separate the two sides in regulation time as the match ended 2-2 after 60 minutes. As the tie went to a penalty shootout, Hockey Chandigarh held their nerves to secure a 3-0 win in the shootouts.
After Sudeep Chirmako (11') gave the Hockey Association of Odisha the lead, Hockey Chandigarh responded with two quickfire goals from Captain Rahul (17') and Raman (18') in the second quarter. Prasant Lakra equalised for Hockey Association of Odisha in the 37th minute, and the match then proceeded to penalty shootouts to decide a winner.
The second semi-final painted a different picture, where Uttar Pradesh Hockey recorded a comprehensive 8-3 victory over Hockey Haryana. Sharda Nand Tiwari (13', 16', 28'); who has been in red-hot form throughout the competition, became the leading scorer of the tournament with yet another hat-trick on the big stage.
His efforts were supplemented by another hat-trick from Arun Sahani (31', 35', 47') and a brace from Uttam Singh (23', 60'). Pankaj also scored a treble for Hockey Haryana (38', 43', 60+').
Hockey Chandigarh and Uttar Pradesh Hockey will face off against each other in the final on December 25, 2021, Saturday, whereas the Hockey Association of Odisha and Hockey Haryana will battle for 3rd/4th place.
( With inputs from ANI )
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