Punjab lift hockey cup, defeat UP

Punjab has captured the title of the 14th Hockey India Junior Men’s National Hockey Championship by defeating Uttar Pradesh 7-6 in a shootout. The final match of this championship, organised by Hockey Punjab, at Olympian Surjit Hockey Stadium was a thriller. The winning teams were felicitated by the Hockey India president Dilip Tirkey.

A large number of spectators gathered to enjoy the final match. In the opening moments of the match, the Punjab team dominated the other side. For the winning side, Sukhwinder Singh scored a goal in the fifth minute of the game to make the score 1-0. In the 31st minute of the game, Uttar Pradesh’s Ajit Yadav scored a goal to make the score 1-1. German Singh of Punjab scored a goal in the 33rd minute of the game to register a lead. In the 39th minute of the game, Jobanpreet Singh scored a goal for Punjab. In the 48th minute of the game, Suraj Pal and in the 54th minute, Akash Pal scored a goal for Uttar Pradesh. Four goals were scored by Punjab and three by Uttar Pradesh in the shootout.

Earlier, Haryana defeated Karnataka 5-0 to clinch the third place.

Dilip Tirkey congratulated the organisers on the successful conclusion of the championship, adding that Hockey Punjab has always contributed to the Indian hockey. He said Hockey India will conduct more championships in Punjab in the near future.

Chief Guest Ashok Mittal congratulated Hockey Punjab and announced a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh to the winning team.