CHANDIGARH, SEPT 19 : Strong contenders Haryana eked out a narrow 1-0 victory over Mehar Baba Charitable Trust Hockey Nursery in the quarter-final match of the Sub-Junior U-15 National Girls Hockey Championship at the ITI Grounds in Bassi Pathana (Punjab) today.
In the closely contested match, both teams had foray into each other’s halves but Kavita succeeded in sounding the board in the 11th minute for Haryana. Neither MBCT Hockey Nursery which got five penalty corners nor Haryana which got 3 penalty corners, could take advantage of these opportunities.
In the second quarter-final encounter, Himachal prevailed over Patiala Union Hockey by 1-0. The match was slow paced and the lone winning goal was scored in the 17th minute by Madhu. Sapna. The HP goalkeeper for Himachal, acted as a brilliant defender warding off repeated attacks and even warded off 10 penalty corners. Himachal earned five penalty corners but could not convert any.
In the third quarter-final outing of the day Mizoram defeated Punjab 2-1. Mizoram struck first in the 17th minute when Lalming Mawai dribbled past the defenders and scored the goal. It was a fast-paced treat through successive attempts succeeded when Rupi hit the equaliser, but later failed to capitalise on various chances that came their way. Mizoram got six penalty corners while Punjab two, but failed to convert them. It was in the second half when Flora of Mizoram snatched the winning goal.
In the fourth quarter-final fixture, Chandigarh outplayed Uttar Pradesh by 4-0. Chandigarh took the lead in 29th minute of the play and in the second half scored three more goals in 33rd, 39th and 43rd minutes by Minisha, Shallu Maan and Saroj, respectively.