New Delhi: Defending champions Punjab, Madhya Pradesh Hockey Academy, The Hockey Maharashtra and Odisha entered the semi-finals of the 3rd Hockey India Junior Men National Championship played at Moti Lal Nehru Sports Complex, Rai in Sonepat on Tuesday.
In the semi-finals to be played on Wednesday, Punjab takes on Madhya Pradesh Hockey Academy while Odisha will clash with The Hockey Maharashtra.
Defending champion Punjab defeated Sports Authority of India 3-1 in the first quarter-final match.
Punjab scored their opening goal through Simranjeet Singh in the 10th minute while an own goal in the 34th minute helped Sports Authority of India to level the score. In the second half Punjab scored through Jatinder Singh (51min) and Harsahib Singh (59 min) helped them to win this match.
In the second quarter-final, Odisha registered easy win over Himachal Pradesh 5-1 who remain unbeatable at the league stage. Sunil Ekka scored two goals for Odisha followed by Joseph Toppo, Teophil Kujur and Dipson Tirkey a goal each while Karanbir Singh scored the only goal for Himachal Pradesh.
In the third quarter-final played today, a fine display by their forwards in the penalty shoot-out guided Madhya Pradesh Hockey Academy to a 7-4 win over the hosts Haryana after the teams were tied 3-3 at the end of regulation and extra time.
Madhya Pradesh Hockey Academy who led 3-0 at the half time scored through Nikki Kaushal (6 min), Arjun Sharma (21 min) and Izhar Qureshi (24 min) but the hosts Haryana came from behind and dominated in the second half of the game. The match ended with a 3-3 draw at the end of the regulation time. In a shoot-out Madhya Pradesh Hockey Academy showed an impressive performance scoring through Izhar Qureshi, Mohd Nizamuddin, Arman Qureshi and Abhay Yadav while Sunil scored for Haryana.
In the last quarter-final match The Hockey Maharashtra beat Delhi 2-0 to enter the semi-finals. The Hockey Maharashtra who led 1-0 at the half time scored through Ashutosh Lingesh (7 min) and Mithlesh Kumar (63 min).
Results:
Quarter-Final 1: Punjab 3 (Simranjeet Singh 10, Jatinder Singh 51, Harsahib Singh 59) beat Sports Authority of India 1 (Own Goal 34)
Quarter-Final 2: Odisha 5 (Sunil Ekka 11, 62, Joseph Toppo 15, Teophil Kujur 35, Dipson Tirkey 62) beat Himachal Pradesh 1 (Karanbir Singh 9)
Quarter-Final 3: (Regulation Time Score) Madhya Pradesh Hockey Academy 3 (Nikki Kaushal 6, Arjun Sharma 21, Izhar Qureshi 24) drew Haryana 3 (Own Goal 47, 60, Nikhil Saroha 56)
(Shoot-Out Score) Madhya Pradesh Hockey Academy 4 (Izhar Qureshi, Mohd Nizamuddin, Arman Qureshi and Abhay Yadav) beat Haryana 1 (Sunil)
Quarter-Final 4: The Hockey Maharashtra 2 (Ashutosh Lingesh 7, Mithlesh Kumar 63) beat Delhi 0.
Fixture for Wednesday, 12 June 2013
Semi-final 1: Punjab vs Madhya Pradesh Hockey Academy (1400hrs)
Semi-final 2: Odisha vs The Hockey Maharashtra (1600hrs)