Punjab crowned Champions of Hockey India Jr men national meetPunjab crowned Champions of Hockey India Jr men national meet

Punjab defeated Haryana 4-2 to lift the eighth Hockey India Junior Men National Championship (A Division), it was announced on Sunday. Gangpur-Odisha secured the bronze medal as they defeated Odisha 6-1 in the match for the third place. In the final match of the competition, Punjab came from two goals down to defeat Haryana 4-2. It was Haryana who took a 2-0 lead after 37 minutes and looked like winning the match. However, Punjab scored four goals in the second half to secure the title, after having finished with the bronze medal last year. It was Gursahibjit Singh who scored a hat-trick of goals for Hockey Punjab in the 42nd, 57th and 65th minutes while Karajwinder Singh (70th minute) also found the back of the winner for the Champions. Hockey Haryana's two goals were scored by Deepak (26th) and Mohit (37th). In the bronze medal match, Hockey Gangpur-Odisha defeated Defending Champions Odisha 6-1 to secure a podium finish. The match saw Hockey Odisha take the lead in the 16th minute through Dibesh Jojo's field goal. However, Hockey Gangpur-Odisha struck four goals before the half-time whistle to take a 4-1 lead into the break. Gangpur-Odisha made sure that they followed in the footsteps of their women's team as they scored twice in the second half to secure an emphatic 6-1 win. Goals for Gangpur-Odisha were scored by skipper Pratap Lakra (27th minute, 59th, 63rd), Sanjay Xalxo (24th, 35th) and Sudeep Chirmako (32nd).