Hockey Patiala and Namdhari XI reach the Finals

Hockey Patiala and Namdhari XI reach the Finals of the 5th edition of Division-B of the Hockey India Senior Men National Championship 2015

- Hockey Patiala stuns Hockey Himachal, beats them 4-1 to advance to the finale match

- Namdhari XI beats Chandigarh Olympic Association 3-1 for a finale berth

Pune (Maharashtra), 14 April 2015: The ongoing 5th edition of the Hockey India Senior Men National Championship 2015 (Div B) in Pune today in its semi-final stage saw Hockey Patiala being the first team to beat Hockey Himachal to advance to the Finals as they beat the opponents 4-1. The second semi-final match witnessed Namdhari XI beating Chandigarh Olympic Association 3-1 to advance to the Finals to be played tomorrow.

The first Semi-Final between Hockey Patiala and Hockey Himachal saw the former dominating the entire match and registered a convincing win. Hockey Patiala completely dominated the first half as they scored back to back goals not allowing the opponents to open their accounts. Just 10 minutes into the game Hockey Patiala opened its account as Manjinder Singh scored through a field goal. The lead was immediately doubled in the 16th minute as Harwinder Singh did not mistake in cashing on the penalty corner opportunity. Just minute left into the first half Hockey Patiala scored two back to back goals coming in the 29th and 30th minute coming from the sticks of Amritpal Singh and Ajay Kumar respectively leaving Hockey Himachal stunned. Trailing by 4 goals to 0, Hockey Himachal finally strucj their first goal in the 47th minute which was a penalty stroke given to the team. This proved to be the sole goal as they lost the match 1-4 to Hockey Patiala.

In the second semi final match for the day between Namdhari XI taking on Chandigarh Olympic Association wherein the former won the match and marched on to the finals. Namdhari XI created the initial pressure when in the 4th minute Gagandeep Singh scored through a beautiful field goal. post the set-back, Chandiagrh Olympic Association tried to equalise but were unable to cash on the half chances. Just a minute away from the first half to end, Namdhari XI doubled the lead as the Captain Kuldeep Singh scored through a penalty corner. The second saw both teams scoring one goal each, but it was too less for Chandigarh Olympic Association, resulting in Namdhari XI winning the game 3-1 and advancing to the finals.

Results of the Day-

Semi-Finals 1 Hockey Patiala 4 Manjinder Singh (10 mins-FG), Harwinder Singh (16 min-PC), Amritpal Singh (29 min-FG), Ajay Kumar (30 min-FG) vs Hockey Himachal 1 Hardeep Singh (47 min-PS)

Semi-Finals 2 Namdhari XI 3 Gagandeep Singh ( 4 min-FG, 44 min-FG), Kuldeep Singh (29 min-PC) vs Chandigarh Olympic Association1 Lovedeep Singh (52 min-FG)

NEXT CLASH: 15th April 2015