Manipur beats defending champion Punjab to enter last four of men’s senior hockey nationals

Manipur caused a huge upset as it beat defending champion Punjab to enter the semifinals of the 14th Senior National men’s championship at the SDAT-Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium here on Wednesday.

Manipur in action against Punjab at the SDAT-Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium in Chennai on Wednesday. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Manipur caused a huge upset as it beat defending champion Punjab on penalties (3-3 in regulation time and 4-3 in shootout) to enter the semifinals of the 14th Senior National men’s championship at the SDAT-Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium here on Wednesday.

It is the first time in the history of Nationals a North-Eastern State has reached the last four. 

“It is a historic day for us. Beating Punjab is a huge achievement. Our experienced players, including Olympians Nilakanta Sharma, Kothajit Singh and Chinglensana Singh, quite a few senior Internationals and junior players played really well. We didn’t give up till the last,” said Manipur’s head coach Moirangthem Rinash Meitei. 

Haryana, two-time champion and last year’s finalist, staged a remarkable comeback to script a 5-1 win--inclusive of a hat-trick by Rohit--over Maharashtra.  Trailing 0-1 till the third quarter, Haryana scored all its five goals in the fourth quarter.

Odisha entered its first semifinals with a hard-fought victory over Karnataka in a shootout (3-1). 

It was heartbreak for the host as Uttar Pradesh beat Tamil Nadu 3-1. 

With Thursday being the rest day, UP will take on Haryana, while Manipur will clash with Odisha in the semifinals on Friday.  

The results (Quarterfinals):

Manipur 3 (Cyril Lugun 30, 36, 51) vs Punjab 3 (Maninder Singh 18, Ravneet Singh 24, 59); Penalty shoot-out: Manipur 4 (Waribam Nirajkumar Singh 2, Moirangthem Rabichandra Singh, Kothajit Singh) bt Punjab 3 (Harjeet Singh, Maninder Singh, Pardeep Singh).

Haryana 5 (Rajinder Singh 48, Rohit 53, 59, 60, Pankaj 54) bt Maharashtra 1 (Aniket Gurav 12).

UP 3 (Chandan Singh 3, Rajkumar Pal 18, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay 34) bt TN 1 (S. Shanmugavel 9).

Odisha 3 (Mangal Lohar 14, Shilanand Lakra 20, Pratap Lakra 50) drew with Karnataka 3 (Pruthvi Raj 5, Bharath Mahalingappa Kurtakoti 11, G. Vishwas 26); Penalty shoot-out: Odisha 3 (Sudeep Chirmako, Matiyas Dang, Sunit Lakra) bt Karnataka 1 (Mohd. Rahul Mouseen).