Bhubaneswar: Hockey Gangpur had to be satisfied with a third-place finish as they defeated Uttar Pradesh Hockey 2-1 in the bronze medal play-off match of the VIIIth Junior Women’s National Championship (Division A) at Bhopal, Sunday. Hockey Jharkhand beat Hockey Haryana 4-2 in the final to emerge champions.
Gangpur started well and scored both their goals in the first half to secure a 2-0 lead at the half-time break. Janhabi Pradhan drew the first blood in the 24th minute for Gangpur before skipper Jiwan Kishori Toppo doubled the lead nine minutes later to give them the upper hand.
However, UP came back strongly in the second half and tried to make an impact creating a flurry of chances. Mumtaz Khan pulled one goal back for UP in the 40th minute but that was all as Gangpur players held their nerves in the closing stages of the game to avert any danger.
Meanwhile in the final game, Jharkhand came from a goal down to beat Haryana 4-2 to clinch the crown. Salima Tete (44th, 67th) and Albela Rani Toppo (53th, 60th) scored two goals each for Jharkhand while Deepika (17th) and Kajal (66th) sounded the board for Haryana.
Double crown
Cuttack Sadar emerged champions both in the boys’ and the girls’ segments of the 11th State Junior Netball Championships at the Mudupur Stadium in Jagatsinghpur, Sunday. In the boys’ category Cuttack Sadar defeated Jagatsinghapur while in the girls’ segment they got the better of Cuttack district.
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