In the end, the final turned out to be anti-climactic and one-sided as Haryana lived up to the favourite’s tag and trounced Sports Authority of India (SAI) 6-0 to win the title in the 10th National Senior Hockey (A division) championship here on Sunday.
There were no more comebacks for the young SAI side which ran out of steam after a promising start. SAI dominated the first quarter during which it earned three penalty corners. But SAI’s penalty corner conversions left a lot to be desired as Haryana survived.
It was a different Haryana side which took the field in the second quarter. The former champion shrugged off its defensive approach and played with lot of verve and aggression in the midfield, much to the discomfort of the SAI defence.
Haryana went ahead in the 19th minute. Annu, after receiving the pass from right, sold her marker a dummy and pushed the ball towards an unmarked Manisha, who scored. Poonam Rani did the spadework for the second goal with an excellent pass which was deflected in by Annu in the 22nd minute.
SAI managed to keep a clean sheet in the third quarter despite being at the receiving end of Haryana’s attack. However, Haryana stamped its class by scoring four goals in the last quarter. Kajal struck a field goal in the 47th minute and Deepika made amends for her earlier misses by scoring the fourth goal in the 50th minute. Haryana scored twice again through Usha (59) and Deepika Sen (60). The latter converted a penalty corner in the dying minutes.
Madhya Pradesh Hockey Academy finished third after defeating Maharashtra 2-1 in the loser’s final.
After a cagey start, the tournament’s top scorer Rutuja Pisal scored her 10th goal to put Maharashtra ahead in the 25th minute. However MPHA struck twice in space of two minutes through Jyoti Pal (31) and Sadhana Senger (33) to turn the contest on its head.
The results: Final: Haryana 6 (Manisha 19, Annu 22, Kajal 47, Deepika 50, Usha 59, Devika Sen 60) bt SAI 0.
Loser’s final: MPHA 2 (Jyoti Pal 31, Sadhana Senger 33) bt Maharashtra 1 (Rutuja Pisal 25).
