Haryana beats Madhya Pradesh to claim senior men's hockey title

The 16th Hockey India Senior Men National Championship has been organised by Hockey India since 2011 under its current name. The competition traces its origins to 1928, when it was first held under the Indian Hockey Federation and was also known as the Rangaswamy Cup. This year's tournament was staged in Jhansi.

Haryana came from behind to beat Madhya Pradesh 2-1 in the final on Wednesday. Mohammad Zaid Khan put Madhya Pradesh ahead with a field goal in the 14th minute. Navraj Singh converted a penalty corner in the 21st minute to bring Haryana level. With the scores tied heading into the final quarter, Joginder Singh converted another penalty corner in the 50th minute to seal the title for Haryana.

Earlier, Uttar Pradesh claimed the bronze medal with a 3-1 victory over Punjab in the third-place playoff. Akash Pal struck twice from open play in the 15th and 21st minutes to give Uttar Pradesh a two-goal advantage at half-time. Punjab reduced the deficit through Pawandeep Singh's field goal in the 41st minute, but Chandan Yadav converted a penalty corner in the 58th to confirm Uttar Pradesh's third-place finish.

Haryana reached the final after a dramatic semi-final against Punjab. Haryana led 2-0 at half-time with field goals from Deepak in the sixth minute and Pankaj in the 22nd. Manraj Singh Marok pulled one back with a penalty corner in the 37th minute, but Raman restored Haryana's two-goal lead with a field goal in the 42nd. Punjab then came back through a penalty corner from Jaswinder Singh in the 45th minute and a penalty stroke from Ujwal Singh in the 58th to level the match at 3-3. In the shootout, Harpal, Navraj Singh, Shubham and Deepak scored for Haryana. Haryana goalkeeper Ankit Malik saved attempts from Gurjot Singh and Dilraj Singh.

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Sources

• Sportstar

• hockeyindia.org

• Photo: Sreekumar K. S., CC BY 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons)