Jr Men National Hockey C’ship: Odisha, Punjab reach semis

Bhopal: Odisha booked their spot in the semi-finals of the 8th Hockey India Junior Men National Championship 2018 (A Division) after sweeping aside Madhya Pradesh 3-1 in penalty shootout in their first quarter-final clash here last evening.

After the scores remained tied at 1-1 after regulation time, the match went to penalty shootout.

The goal for Odisha was scored by Sudhir Kujur (39′) while Mohd Talib (64′) scored the only goal for Madhya Pradesh Hockey Academy.

Whereas, in the Penalty Shootout, Odisha’s shot were converted by Ashwin Kujur, Sudhir Kujur and Krishna Tirkey while Madhya Pradesh’s only shot was converted by Harshdeep Kapoor.

In the second quarter-final, Punjab defeated Sports Authority of India 3-2 to secure a berth in the Semi-finals. Goals for Punjab were scored by Parampreet Singh (28′, 44′) and Varinder Singh (70′) while Rohit (18′) and Deepak (54′) scored the goals for Sports Authority of India.

In the third quarter-final, Haryana beat Chandigarh 4-0 to register a place in the Semi-finals. Goals for Haryana were scored by skipper Mandeep Mor (7′), Deepak (20′), Abhishek (22′) and Sunny Malik (68′) as they produced a convincing victory.

In the fourth quarter-final, Gangpur-Odisha defeated Uttar Pradesh 4-2 in the Penalty Shootout after the scores remained 2-2 after regulation time.

Goals for Gangpur-Odisha in the regulation time were scored by skipper Pratap Lakra (5′) and Manoj Jojo (24′) while Ajay Yadav (23′) and skipper Mohd Faraz (38′) scored the goals for Uttar Pradesh.

In the penalty shootout, Gangpur-Odisha’s shots were converted by Sibren Lakra, Sanjay Xalxo, Sudeep Chirmako and Pratap Lakra while Vishal Kant Singh and Uttam Singh converted for Uttar Pradesh.(ANI)