Men’s Senior Hockey Nationals: Odisha thumps Haryana 5-1 to win title

Odisha hammered two-time champion Haryana 5-1, courtesy of a hat-trick by Shilanand Lakra, in the final of the Hockey India-14th Senior National championship at the SDAT-Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium here on Saturday for its maiden gold medal. 

For Haryana, it was its second successive defeat in the summit clash, having lost to Punjab last time. 

Earlier, Uttar Pradesh beat Manipur 2-1 to bag the bronze medal.  

Touted to be a close contest, Odisha, however, blew away a team that had in its ranks both experience and youth in equal measure. In the end, it was the speed allied with supreme skills that enabled Odisha to script a triumph of such a margin.  

It was in the second quarter that Haryana—trailing 0-1—showed what it is capable of. Haryana exerted immense pressure on Odisha by attacking exceedingly well but without much success.

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Odisha’s defenders especially the rushers Kerobin Lakra and Amit Kumar Topno along with goalkeeper Sahil Kumar Nayak showed great alacrity by disrupting the penalty corners of Haryana which had 10 in total. 

Coming back from knee surgery to find a place in the Indian team, Shilanand showed his striking skills and speed. It was his three goals in the fourth and final quarter that took the match away from Haryana. His fourth goal was a delight. From the half-line, Shilanand stole the ball from Prabhjot Singh to make a fantastic run and produce a reverse flick into the net.

Odisha’s head coach Bijay Kumar Lakra praised the team’s fitness. “Today’s hockey is all about fitness. We will not leave a single player. We will run and block anyone who tries to run.” Bijay further spoke about Sundargarh district’s contribution to Odisha hockey. “Sundargarh has more than a dozen artificial pitches and most players in our team now are from Sundargarh.” 

Uttar Pradesh edged Manipur 2-1 to bag the bronze medal, with skipper Lalit Upadhyay and Rajkumar Pal among the goals.