Haryana crowned champion of senior hockey nationals after 11 years

Haryana was on Sunday crowned the champion of the 12th Senior Men's National Hockey Championship here, beating Tamil Nadu 3-1 in the shootout after the final ended 1-1 in the regulation time.

Haryana (in yellow) scored thrice in its first four attempts inthe shootout, while Tamil Nadu succeeded in the first attempt but missed in the following three attempts. (File Photo)

Haryana was on Sunday crowned the champion of the 12th Senior Men's National Hockey Championship here, beating Tamil Nadu 3-1 in the shootout after the final ended 1-1 in the regulation time.

Haryana won the trophy for the first time since 2011.

The match started with Deepak giving Haryana a 1-0 lead in the fourth minute. But Saravana Kumar was able to quickly level the score, getting the equaliser in the 10th minute of the match for Tamil Nadu.

In the shootout, Haryana scored thrice in its first four attempts, while Tamil Nadu succeeded in the first attempt but missed in the following three attempts.

Speaking on the win, Haryana head coach Sandeep Sangwan said, "It has been a pleasure to see the growth of our team over the years, and throughout this tournament as well.

"I was a member of the coaching team when Haryana had won the senior men nationals first time in 2011. Gagandeep Singh was the youngest member of that team and now he has led the team as captain. I cannot express in words how happy I am." Sangwan added that the win will motivate players at the junior and sub-junior level to do well.

Karnataka prevailed over Maharashtra 4-3 in the third/fourth place classification match.