Chattisgarh ended Karnataka's winning streak with a 24-19 victory in their last Group D encounter at the 36th Senior National handball championship for men here on Thursday.
Despite their first reverse of the tournament, Karnataka entered the knockout phase by virtue of finishing second in their group. But the hosts have an arduous task ahead in the quarterfinals, where they take on Group C toppers, formidable Services.
Firoz Ahmed was the architect of the Chattisgarh victory, scoring a match-high 10 goals. The Karnataka defence, which had looked solid in the previous matches, suddenly crumbled as Firoz enjoyed a free run in the goal area.
Henry Singh and Lakshmudu Amara scored three goals apiece for the hosts, who trailed 6-10 at the halfway stage. Skipper Premnath, who had spearheaded most of their victories, had an off-day and that had a telling effect on Karnataka’s prospects. The Karnataka attackers did make a couple of forays into the opposition area, but came a cropper when it came to finishing, a fact acknowledged by coach Arun Kumar.
‘Poor finishing’
“Our finishing left a lot to be desired. We missed a lot of seven-metre throws too. In hindsight, that proved costly. A victory here would have earned us a clash against Tamil Nadu (Group C runners-up), but now we have to play a tougher opposition. I hope we learn from today’s mistakes and play better tomorrow.”
Jharkhand edged Maharashtra 28-27 in a thrilling Group C tie. Jharkhand had a one-point lead at half time and held on to that till the final whistle.
The rule book was taken for a ride for the second day running, with the Chattisgarh-Madhya Pradesh match ending abruptly. With Chattisgarh having already made it to the knockout stage, both teams finished off the match in less than 20 minutes, the score reading 8-7 in favour of Chattisgarh.
