Chennai: Hockey Association of Odisha and Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu made history on Friday by being crowned champions in the women’s and men’s sections, respectively, of the 1st Hockey India Masters Cup 2025.
Odisha defeated Hockey Punjab in the women’s section while Tamil Nadu got the better of Hockey Maharashtra in the men’s summit clash played at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Hockey Stadium in Chennai.
Hockey Haryana won the bronze medal match in the women’s category after defeating the Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu, whereas Hockey Chandigarh beat the Hockey Association of Odisha in the men’s category to finish their campaign on the podium.
In the women’s section, the Hockey Association of Odisha narrowly defeated Hockey Punjab 1-0 in the final match to become the champions. Both teams displayed grit and commitment to etch their name in history, and remained goalless in the first half.
But it was Ranjita Beck (34) who proved her mettle once again in the tournament to take the ball past the strong defence of Hockey Punjab and score the match-winning goal of the match to lift the trophy.
In the men’s category, the Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu defeated Hockey Maharashtra 5-0 to lift the trophy. After both the teams were goalless for most of the first half, Muthuselvan D. (30’), Sudharsan S. (34’), Govthaman (36’), Thamaraikannan (40’) and Ramadoss V. (52’) scored five goals on regular intervals in the latter half of the game to clinch the title from Hockey Maharashtra.
In the bronze medal match of the women’s category, Hockey Haryana defeated Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu 4-3 in a closely contested game. Saumya (40’, 48’) scored a brace for the Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu, joined by Captain Mecklish James (5’), who also scored one goal.
On the other side for Hockey Haryana, both Monorama Goswami (19’, 56’) and Chingshubam Sanggai Ibemhal (22’, 34’) scored a couple of goals each to take the game away from Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu and finished their campaign on the podium with the Bronze medal.
Also, in the bronze medal match of the men’s category, Hockey Chandigarh defeated Hockey Association of Odisha 2-1. Ravinder Singh (26’) opened the goal count on the scoreboard for Hockey Chandigarh. In response, Ladhu Ekka (44’) played an equaliser right before the end of the third quarter. Both teams were playing neck-to-neck, giving it their all, but it was Hockey Chandigarh who proved to be the better one as Harvinder Singh (52’) scored another one to make the difference and help his team win the Bronze medal.
(IANS)
