Chennai: Odisha has entered hockey India reached the final of the National Senior Men’s Championship for the first time on Friday, defeating Manipur 4-2.
Hiranand Lakla Odisha stood out with goals and assists. The 25-year-old showed what he can do to India head coach Craig Fulton who was in the stands. In 2022, Hiranand underwent surgery on his left leg, which kept him out of hockey for a year. The attacker returned last year and was part of the Indian team in the recent series in Germany.
Nilakanta Sharma opened the scoring for Manipur through a penalty kick in the seventh minute on Friday. Soon, Odisha tow flashes Patchouli Sanchip (No. 13) equalized the score with a penalty corner kick into the net. Just 5 minutes into the second quarter, a lob shot from the midfielder was controlled near the baseline, and the ball was passed to Kujul Prasad in the penalty area. Slapping the ball into the net gave Odisha the lead.
Manipur ruthlessly tied the score, pounced on Odisha goalkeeper’s mistake Sahil Kumar. Sahil failed to clear the ball cleanly and passed the ball to Manipur’s Ingalumba Luwang. Luwang provided the assist for Ganendrajit Ningombam (25th), who pushed the ball to the left of the goalkeeper.
Both teams maintained their attacking intent but failed to achieve good results. The game looked like it was headed to a penalty shootout, but things took a turn. Odisha scored twice in the 52nd minute to seal the victory. First, Hiranand on the left side dodged four defenders and entered the dome. On the run, he opened up the Manipur defense and played a perfect pass to Kujul, who in a one-on-one situation put the ball over the goalkeeper and scored. Seconds later, Sudeep Chirmakofrom an acute angle, makes the board snap off the reverse stick, bringing the game to an end.
Haryana advances to final: Goalkeeper Pawan made two saves in the final minutes to help Haryana beat Uttar Pradesh 3-2 to reach its second consecutive final. UP made a comeback in the final quarter through Arun Sahani (49th) and Manish Yadav (53rd time). They struggled to equalize but Pawan was determined to prevent them from winning.
result: Semi-final: Odisha 4 beat Manipur 2.
