Sr Women's Hockey Nationals: U.P hold Jharkhand to draw; M.P in quarterfinals

Pune, March 14 (IANS) Uttar Pradesh Hockey came back from a two-goal deficit to hold Hockey Jharkhand to a thrilling draw in a star-studded match while Madhya Pradesh, Telangana and Bengal won their respective matches on Day 2 of the 14th Hockey India Senior Women National Championship at the Major Dhyanchand Hockey Stadium Pimpri, Pune, on Thursday. 

Star players Salmia Tete (15’) and Mumtaz Khan (34’) scored for Hockey Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh Hockey respectively in their 2-2 draw in Pool C.

Hockey Jharkhand found the back of the net first with Indian team midfielder Salima Tete (15’) scoring a field goal at the end of the first quarter. They went on to double their lead when Reshma Soreng (19’) converted a penalty corner as the first half ended with Hockey Jharkhand two goals in front.

The game was far from over as Uttar Pradesh Hockey reduced the deficit to one goal after a penalty corner conversion from Indian team forward Mumtaz Khan (34’) in the third quarter before Hina Bano (47’) converted yet another penalty corner early in the final quarter to equalise.

With both teams coming close to taking the decisive lead, but neither being able to break through each other’s defence, the game ended in a draw with the score reading 2-2 and the two teams earning one point each from the game.

M.P win two in a row to reach quarters

Earlier in the day, defending champions Hockey Madhya Pradesh defeated Hockey Bihar 7-1 in Pool A.

Hritika Singh (45’, 50’, 60’) scored a hat trick for Hockey Madhya Pradesh, while Aishwarya Chavan (6’), Preeti Dubey (9’), Kanchan Nidhi Kerketta (32’) and Hockey Madhya Pradesh captain and Indian team defender Ishika Chaudhary (33’) scored a goal each for their team. The solitary goal for Hockey Bihar came off the stick of Ebha Kerketta in the final quarter as Hockey Madhya Pradesh went on to top Pool A and qualified for the knockouts.

Telangana score commanding win

In the third game of the day, Telangana Hockey defeated Hockey Gujarat 12-0. Telangana Hockey captain Edula Jyothi (24’, 26’, 27’) led from the front with a hat trick. Sri Chandana Gandhapu (9’, 37’), Harleen Kour Sardarni (14’, 47’) and Preethi Dharla (25’, 57’) scored braces while Anusha Chekkala (44’), Akhila Mandla (45’) and Varshitha Muppala (56’) scored a goal each for Telangana Hockey.

Second win for Hockey Bengal

The fourth game of the day saw Hockey Bengal defeat the Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu 2-0 in their Pool H game. The two goals for Hockey Bengal were field goals that came from Sushmita Gandha (21’) and Sushmita Panna (38’) in the second and third quarter respectively as they went on to win the game without conceding any goals.