Namdhari in final

Haryana side to face MSSA in summit tie

Mumbai School Sports Association (MSSA) and Namdhari XI dished out quality performances to enter the final of the 7th Hockey India Sub-junior National Championships (B Division) here at the Hockey stadium on Thursday.

The win means, the two teams will be a part of Division ‘A’ next year.

In the semifinals held on Thursday, MSSA handed Hockey Rajasthan a 5-1 drubbing while the Namdhari side played out of their skin to eke out a 2-1 win over Bengal Hockey Association.
Rajveer Dhariwala opened the scoring for MSSA in the second minute to set the tone for the day. The Mumbai unit controlled the game with thier swift attacking play, giving Rajasthan no chance.

Sartaj Alam (7th, 55th minutes) netted a brace on either side of a Md Sadiq goal in the 36th minute while Arvind Yadav completed the rout with his strike in the 60th minute.

If MSSA enjoyed a stroll in the park against Rajasthan, the second last four tie was complete opposite as Namdhari and Bengal matched each other stride for stride.

After a goalless opening half, Akashdeep Singh gave Namdhari the lead in the 41st minute from a short corner. Later, they went on to double the advantage with Surpreet Singh converting another penalty corner in the 54th minute.

Though Kallu Ali pulled one back for Bengal in the 55th minute, it was not enough as the Namdhari unit held on to their lead to qualify for the final.

Results: Semifinals: Mumbai School Sports Association (MSSA): 5 (Rajveer Dhariwala 2nd, Sartaj Alam 7th, 55th, Md Sadiq 36th, Arvind Yadav 60th) bt Hockey Rajasthan: 1 (Sachin 41st); Namdhari XI: 2 (Akashdeep Singh 41st, Surpreet Singh 54th) bt Bengal Hockey Association: 1 (Kallu Ali 55th