Delhi registers third win as they defeat Himachal Pradesh 2-1

• Hockey Delhi overcame Hockey Himachal Pradesh 2-1
• Hockey Bihar defeats Hockey Assam by 4-3
• Bengal Hockey Association edge past Hockey Uttarakhand by 2-1
• Hockey Gujarat registers 2-1 victory over Mumbai Hockey Association

New Delhi, 13^th May 2014: Day-4 of the Sub-Junior National Men Championship 2014 (Division B) saw some exciting clashes as all the teams put up a tough fight against their respective opponents and registered close wins, today in Vadodara, Gujarat.

 

In aPool B match, Delhi successfully registered its third consecutive win of the tournament as they defeated Himachal Pradesh with a close margin of 2-1. The first half of the match saw its first goal coming in the 14^th minute through Delhi’s Nitin Ram as a field goal and helped Delhi in maintaining the lead by 1-0 by the end of the first half. In the second half of the match, Delhi took their lead further ahead by 2-0 in the 41^stminute through Mohit Anand’s field goal but was immediately replied to by Himachal Pradesh’s Prakash Chand in the 44^thminute. Both the teams played with a good defending stance hereon and restricted each other from penetrating further goals, as a result, Delhi registered a 2-1 win over Himachal Pradesh.

 

In a Pool A match, Bihar registered their second consecutive win by defeating Assam by 4-3. Assam started off well and scored two goals in quick succession. Assam’s Nazrul Islam and Manish Sahani scored two goals in the 7^th minute and 9^th minute of the match through field goal and took a lead of 2-0. In the very next minute, Subash Sanga successfully converted the penalty corner and helped Bihar bounced back. Both the teams then defended well against each other and did not let score any goal against each other till the half time. In the second half Bihar got a penalty corner in the 56^th minute of the game and Pandeya Munda converted it into a goal without making any mistake and levelled the score to 2-2. In the 58^th minute Assam’s Manish Sahani again scored a goal through field goal and took the lead to 3-2. Bihar bounced back in the match, Samir Minz and Binit Ekka scored two goals in 63rd and 70^th minute and overturned the match in their favour. Bihar won the match with 4-3 on the board.

 

In another match of Pool C, a tough fight was witness between Bengal Hockey Association and Hockey Uttarakhand. The hard fought clash saw Bengal Hockey Association registering the first goal of the match in the 9^th minute through Captian Nadim Hossen Saikh’s successful penalty corner, which was later levelled by Hockey Uttarakhand’s Sarik Ali in the 18^th minute as a penalty corner and closing the first half of the match at 1-1. The second half of the match saw a dry run as both the teams did a good job in defending and restricting each other from doing any damage, until the 55^th minute of the game when Captian Nadim Hossen Saikh of Bengal Hockey Association converted a penalty strike and took the lead by 2-1. This proved to be the last goal of the match and Bengal Hockey Association registered a hard-earned 2-1 victory over Hockey Uttarakhand.

 

In another match of Pool D, played between Mumbai Hockey Association & Hockey Gujarat, both the teams gave a tough fight to each other. It was Mumbai Hockey Association in the 9^thminute opening its account through Hemant Fadikar’s field goal. Equalizing the scores by 1-1, Gujarat’s Captain Amal Mathew stroked in a field goal in the 23^rd minute and the scores remained levelled by the end of the first half. In the second half of the match, turning the game in its favour, Gujarat marked a hard-fought victory when Virj Sisodiya converted a penalty corner in the 47^th minute for the team and led the board with 2-1.