JOIN USKarnataka thumped Bihar 8-1 to brighten their chances of entering the quarterfinals of the third Hockey India Senior Men’s National Championship here on Thursday.
In a Pool C match, Chingappa (28th, 30th) struck a brace while SK Uthappa (10th), Nikkin Thimmaiah (21st), Muddappa (38th), Vikramkanth (43rd), Bidappa (51st) and MG Poonacha (52nd) scored a goal each for Karnataka. Styanam sounded the board for Bihar in the 56th minute .
Karnataka will take on Services Sports Control Board (SSCB) in a crucial match on Friday to decide the quarterfinalists from Pool C.
Earlier, Punjab overwhelmed Delhi 9-2 while Manipur ousted Andhra Pradesh 4-2 in their league matches respectively to enter the quarterfinals. Manipur ended their campaign winning three out of as many games in the league stage. In the same pool, Uttarakhand scored a 5-3 win over Kerala. In another game, Jharkhand scraped past Odisha 3-2 to top Pool E.
Another win will guarantee a quarterfinal spot to Jharkhand, who still have a match in hand against HP.