7th Sub Junior National C'ship: MSSA to take on Namdhari XI in final

Bengaluru 

Mumbai School Sports Association (MSSA) and Namdhari XI progressed through to the final of the 7th Sub Junior National Hockey Championship 2017 (Men) 'B' Division after registering comprehensive victories in their respective semi-final clashes on Thursday.

In the first semi final, Mumbai School Sports Association put in a dominant display of hockey to beat Hockey Rajasthan 5-1. Rajveer Singh Dhariwala opened the scoring for the winners in the second minute of the game, and from there on they dominated the game.

Mumbai School Sports Association's controlled display of attacking hockey nullified Hockey Rajasthan's threat. Other goal scorers for them were Sartaj Alam (7', 55'), Mohd Sadiq (36') and Arvind Yadav (60').

In the second semi final, Namdhari XI, the stand out team of the tournament, beat Bengal Hockey Association 2-1 in a closely contested game. But goals came only in the second half when Akashdeep Singh opened the scoring for Namdhari XI in the 41st minute, with a slick PC conversion.

Both teams played cautiously, careful to not engage each other and leave open spaces in their back line. Namdhari XI extended their advantage with a Surpreet Singh PC conversion in the 54th minute.

Within a minute though Bengal Hockey Association struck back, Kallu Ali ensuring the final minutes would be nervy and action packed. Namdhari XI kept their composure though, and with the victory took their place in the finals.

In Bhopal, 7th Junior National Hockey Championship 2017 (Women) 'A' Division kicked off yesterday, with high quality hockey on display through the day.

In Pool C, Hockey Coorg beat Delhi Hockey 2-0 to start their tournament off on a positive note. M Devi (4', 18') scored a brace for Hockey Coorg in the victory.

In Pool D, Hockey Odisha beat Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu 3-0. Mariana Kujur's brace (19', 53') and Dipit Lakra's 51st minute strike were enough for the victors to take the three points.

In Pool C, Hockey Jharkhand beat Hockey Karnataka 5-3 in a high scoring thriller. Sangita Kumari scored a high-class hat trick (1', 52', 58') and Albela Rani Toppo scored a brace (15', 53') in Hockey Jharkhand's victory.

Hockey Chandigarh beat The Mumbai Hockey Association Ltd 4-1 in Pool A. Goals for Hockey Chandigarh were scored by, Poonam Olla (18'), Kavita (20'), Amritpal Kaur (31') and Shalu Mann (45'). Anjali Tudu scored The Mumbai Hockey Assoiation Ltd's goal in the 40th minute.

Hockey Punjab beat Hockey Patiala 3-1 in Pool A. Gurkamalpreet Kaur of Hockey Punjab scored a quick fire brace (30', 32') in their victory. Hockey Patiala's goal was scored by, Mitali in the 69th minute.

In Pool B, Hockey Haryana outclassed Chhattisgarh Hockey to win 19-0. Reet (15', 20', 29', 38', 42') and Amandeep Kaur (5', 8', 24', 34') scored a hat trick each in the victory.