Gwalior: Hosts Madhya Pradesh Hockey Academy scored a narrow 2-1 victory against Sports Authority of India (SAI) Academy in the final to clinch the title in the 2nd Hockey India Junior Women’s Academy National Championship here on Saturday.
Bhumika Sahu (34′) and Hritika Singh (43′) scored the goals for Madhya Pradesh Hockey Academy taking a 2-0 lead in the third quarter of the match.
SAI Academy reduced the margin via Prini Kandir (54′) but their hopes were short-lived as Madhya Pradesh Hockey Academy’s strong defence helped them maintain their advantage till the end and clinch the title in front of the home crowd.
Mrinal Choubey, manager of Madhya Pradesh Hockey Academy expressed his happiness after winning the Championship.
He said, “It feels immensely proud to end the tournament as the Champions. Our team executed the plan that we had in our minds before the game. It’s a complete team effort that helped us to get the result in our favour. It was a good game, SAI Academy played really well. There were some chances that they could’ve availed but our defence did a great job in restricting them.”
In the other match, Raja Karan Hockey Academy secured the third position in the tournament after beating Salute Hockey Academy 1-0. Preeti (39′) scored in the third quarter to give her side the lead against their opposition.
Raja Karan Hockey Academy’s strong defence left no stone unturned in restricting Salute Hockey Academy to earn a hard-fought victory. Both the teams showed extreme grit and commitment on the field but in the end, Raja Karan Hockey Academy secured third place.
(IANS)
