Haryana edged past Uttar Pradesh 3-2 in the semifinal of the 14th Hockey India Senior Men National Championship 2024 at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Hockey Stadium on Friday to book its spot for the third consecutive final.
A two-time champion since Hockey India’s 2011 revamp, Haryana, faced a formidable UP side featuring current India internationals Lalit Upadhyay and Rajkumar Pal. Despite a promising 3-1 lead, a yellow card for skipper Pardeep Mor at the 50-minute mark forced Haryana to play a man down for the remainder of the match.
It immediately retreated into a defensive formation to counter UP’s attacking onslaught but conceded a penalty corner, which Manish Yadav converted in the 53rd minute.
Despite UP’s late surge, Haryana’s custodian Pawan Malik put on a great show, saving three crucial UP attempts in the last seven minutes. His most heroic save came with just eight seconds on the clock, blocking Lalit’s point-blank shot.
ALSO READ | Odisha beats Manipur to book final berth, to face Haryana in summit clash
“We train for these exact situations. Today, our team spirit shone through as we supported and covered for each other. Hopefully, we can produce another good match against Odisha tomorrow,” said the 23-year-old, who is part of the India A squad which is going for a tour of the Netherlands and Belgium on Sunday.
Although Pawan’s heroics in the dying moment sealed the deal for Haryana, it was midfielder Rajinder Singh, who made a key impact in the game. The 21-year-old, who recently made his senior India debut in the India-Germany Test series, displayed maturity on the ball and great determination off it.
Rajinder converted a penalty corner just after the halftime break to give Haryana a commanding 3-0 lead after assisting Raman for its opener in the opening minute of the second quarter.
In the last 10 minutes, the midfielder disrupted UP’s play with interceptions and even initiated a counter-attack that nearly set up Rohit for a goal. With four goals in the tournament, including three from penalty corners, the youngster showcased why Hyderabad Toofans snapped him for a hefty Rs. 23 lakh during the Hockey India League auction.
“We planned to play attacking hockey and take the lead as soon as possible. The idea was to put pressure on the opposition. If we focus solely on defence, we could concede multiple goals, as UP nearly demonstrated,” said the midfielder playing his first senior nationals.
Haryana coach Sandeep Sangwan, who has been at the helm of the team since 2011 is happy with the team’s response.
“This performance highlighted the character of our players. While we missed opportunities to extend our lead before Pardeep’s yellow, a fourth goal could have brought more goals. Things like these happen in hockey and that’s why people love to watch the game,” said the coach who helped Haryana to two championships.
Haryana’s midfield employed a disciplined zonal-marking strategy to neutralise Rajkumar. The collective efforts of Rajinder, Joginder Singh, Yashdeep Siwach and Raman disrupted UP’s attacking rhythm, forcing Lalit to drop deeper to regain possession.
ALSO READ | India men’s coach Craig Fulton suggests promotion-relegation in Nationals for better competition
The team capitalised on its penalty corners, converting one of two opportunities. Joginder executed a clever dummy and passed the ball to Rajinder, who finished the move with a well-placed shot.
Despite three back-to-back berths in the finals, Haryana is not taking the final for granted against a well-organised Odisha side which has eight players from junior and senior national camps.
“Odisha is a very good side, they are playing very efficiently and we have to be at our best to beat them. I’m sure it will not be an easy match and at this level, it should not be easy,” added the Haryana coach.
On Saturday, Haryana will endeavour to secure its third title in four championship appearances, while Odisha will strive for its inaugural gold medal.
Comments
SHARE