Haryana will face Odisha in the summit clash of the 14th Hockey India Senior Men’s National Championship after they beat their respective opponents in the semifinals here on Friday.
While Odisha defeated Manipur 4-2 in the first semifinal, Haryana edged out Uttar Pradesh 3-2 in the second last-four match on day 12 of the competition.
The two losing teams, Uttar Pradesh and Manipur, will compete for third place on Saturday. The final between Haryana and Odisha will also be held on Saturday, after the third-place play-off.
Haryana were off to a strong start, finding two goals in the second quarter through Raman (17th minute) and Abhimanyu (20th). In the third quarter, Rajinder Singh (38th) added to the tally to make it 3-0.
A late surge from Uttar Pradesh saw Arun Sahani (49th) and Manish Yadav (53rd) score in the fourth quarter. However, an equaliser remained elusive.
In the first semi-final, Nilakanta Sharma (7th) gave Manipur the lead before Nilam Sanjeep Xess (13th) cut the deficit for Odisha.
Shilanand Lakra (20th) gave Odisha the lead in the second quarter before Ganendrajit Ningombam (25th) also found the back of the net to tie the scoreline.
After a goal-less third quarter, Prasad Kujur (52nd) and Sudeep Chirmako (52nd) scored in quick succession to complete the victory for Odisha.
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