Gangpur-Odisha and Maharashtra proved their mettle against Namdhari XI and Mumbai respectively to make a comfortable landing into the final of the National Hockey Championship (Division B) at the Major Dhyan Chand Hockey Stadium here Wednesday.
Both Gangpur and Namdhari XI played strategically in the first semi-final to restrict each other from scoring. The strategy worked well in the first half and the score remained 0-0 at halftime.
Namdhari XI committed errors in the second half, giving two penalty corners to their opponents. William Xalxo (42nd minute) and captain Ashish Anmol Minz (59th) made no mistake in successfully converting the corners to proceed to the final 2-0.
In the second semi-final, Maharashtra's Navneet Swarnkar proved to be an asset as his two goals in each half led the team to a 2-1 win over Mumbai. Mumbai scored through Amit Goswami (40th).
Semi-final results: Gangpur-Odisha 2 beat Namdhari XI 0; Maharashtra 2 beat Mumbai 1.
