Two-time defending champions Haryana scored a methodical 2-0 win over Madhya Pradesh to emerge champions in the fourth Hockey India Junior Women’s National Championship (Division A) here on Sunday.
Narinder Kaur and Neha Goyal scored a goal each as Haryana extended their reign for another year, maintaining their supremacy with a polished show at the Chamundi Vihar grounds.Haryana, who have been prolific throughout the tourament by scoring goals at will, went ahead as early as in the eighth minute, thanks to Narinder’s fine solo effort.
Both teams then went at each other with Haryana trying to extend their lead and MP looking to equalise in an intensely-fought half. However, neither succeeded in their attempts. Just like how they started the contest, Haryana began the second half also on a positive note after captain Neha scored in the 40th minute to make it 2-0. Armed with a handy advantage, Haryana then controlled the game pretty well, giving MP hardly anything to wrap up a good win.
In the third-place play-off, Jharkhand defeated Odisha 3-1 via penalty shoot-out after both failed to score till the end of regulation time.
Result: Final: Haryana: 2 (Narinder Kaur 8th, Neha Goyal 40th) bt Madhya Pradesh: 0. Third-place play-off: Jharkhand: 3 bt Odisha: 1 via penalty shoot-out. FT: 0-0.Individual awards: Best goalkeeper: Nisha NN (Karnataka); Best defender: Rashmitha Minj (Odisha); Best midfielder: Rajni Soreng (Jharkhand); Best forward: Priyanka Wankhede (MP); Player of the meet: Jyoti Gupta (Haryana).