UP men lift maiden sub-junior hockey trophy
LUCKNOW : By the time India celebrated their historical triumph in the Thomas Cup final in Bangkok on Sunday afternoon, registering a 3-0 win over Indonesia, Uttar Pradesh too went into celebration mode later in the evening as they too scored 3-0 win over Hockey Jharkhand to claim their maiden Sub-Junior Men’s National Championship at Goa.
The win, however, remained a big success for Uttar Pradesh Hockey, especially after both their men and women teams faced loses in the quarterfinals of their respective nationals recently. Uttar Pradesh had semi-final finish twice before the existence of the Hockey India, games governing body in 2012, and thereafter they didn’t have any significant achievement in the category.
But on Sunday, Uttar Pradesh Hockey boys unleashed a new chapter in rich history of Uttar Pradesh sports at the Peddem Sports Complex ground with energetic centre-forward Shahrukh Ali (10th, 13th and 47th) netting a hat-trick to finish as the star performer.
Playing true to their reputation, Uttar Pradesh men dominated the proceedings from the word go and hardly allowed Jharkhand men to look for opportunity. Except two short corners, which also went into vain, Jharkhand men were struggling even for the ball possession in the 60-minute duel.
Running like a well-oiled machine on the blue turf, Shahrukh made no mistake on pouncing on a quick pass from the centre and shot the ball home in the 10th minute (1-0). Even before the Jharkhand men could understand anything Shahrukh had his second goal, this time after getting a cross right in-front of the goalpost from Ajit Yadav (2-0) in the 13th minute. With 2-0 lead at the break, Uttar Pradesh Hockey kept testing Jharkhand custodian with a series of organized attack. On the contrary, Jharkhand men were well-defended by the UP hockey defense wall. Two minutes within the fourth and the final quarter, Shahrukh once again availed the opportunity well and sounded the board in the 47th minute to complete his maiden and well-deserved hat-trick in the tournament.
Earlier Hockey Association of Odisha defeated Hockey Haryana 5-3 to finish third after leading y 4-1 at the half-time.
Speaking about his team’s victory, coach Vikas Pal expressed, “It’s a great feeling to beat a strong team like Hockey Jharkhand in the final. It’s a big achievement for these kids, for me as a coach and for the entire fraternity of Uttar Pradesh Hockey as well.”
“It’s a big day for Uttar Pradesh Hockey and everyone in the team deserved a big praise,” UP Hokey’s secretary, RP Singh said after UP’s win. “Success of the UP team at the sub-junior nationals is a testimony of everyone’s effort in making the side a winning team,” he said.
BIG WIN FOR GIRLS
Meanwhile, at Imphal, Uttar Pradesh Hockey registered a massive 21-0 win against Hockey Gujarat in their Pool C encounter on Sunday in the 12th Hockey India Sub-Junior Women National Championship. Vandana Patel starred with six goals, while Suneeta Kumari slammed five.