Jr Women National Hockey C'ship: MP, UP reach semis

Haryana booked their place in the semi-finals of the 8th Hockey India Junior Women National Championship 2018 (A Division) as they edged past Madhya Pradesh Hockey Academy 1-0 in their last-eight clash here on Thursday.

The match saw Haryana score early in the 12th minute through Amrinder Kaur and defended well throughout the two halves to snatch the victory against a strong Madhya Pradesh Hockey Academy team.

The second quarter-final saw Uttar Pradesh defeat Mizoram 1-0 where the only goal of the match came in the 28th minute when Uttar Pradesh's Sonal Tiwari found the back of the net to give her team an important lead.

 

Mizoram tried to make a comeback into the match but Uttar Pradesh's resolute defending saw them keep their lead intact till the final whistle and register a place in the semi-finals.

In the third quarter-final clash, Gangpur-Odisha defeated Odisha 3-1 in the penalty shootout after the scores were level at 2-2 after regulation time.

The match saw Odisha take the lead in the sixth minute but Gangpur-Odisha struck back in the 11th minute to level the scores. Odisha scored a second goal in the 20th minute but their opponents struck again in the second half to level the scores at 2-2.

Goals for Odisha were scored by Elima Minz (6') and Ashmita Barla (20') while Namrata Jasmin Bara (11') and Janhabi Pradhan (38') scored the goals for Gangpur-Odisha.

In the penalty shootout, Rojita Kujur, Janhabi Pradhan and skipper Jiwan Kishori Toppo were on target for Gangpur-Odisha while Odisha's captain Ajmina Kujur was the only one on target for her team as their opponents won 3-1.

In the fourth quarter-final, it was Jharkhand secured an emphatic 9-0 victory over Sports Authority of India. The match was dominated by Jharkhand as they registered a place in the semi-finals with the help of goals from Sangita Kumari (19', 27', 51'), Beauty Dungdung (3', 40'), Pinki Ekka (52'), Salima Tete (64'), Sushma Kumari (66') and Albela Rani Toppo (70').