Haryana to take on Odisha in senior National final

Opening the floodgates: Sanjeev Nilam, right, scored Odisha’s first goal against Manipur in the semifinals of the Hockey India-14th Senior National championship on November 15, 2024
| Photo Credit: B. Jothi Ramalingam

Odisha prevailed over Manipur 4-2 while Haryana shut out a spirited challenge from Uttar Pradesh 3-2 in the semifinals of the Hockey India-14th Senior National championship at the SDAT-Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium in Chennai on November 15, 2024.

On Saturday, Haryana will be looking to clinch its third title from four finals while Odisha will be eager to bag its maiden gold medal.

Consisting quite a few players in the National junior and senior camp, Odisha played high intensity hockey throughout, keeping Manipur at the end of tether. Shilanand Lakra, who returned to the Indian senior team—he played in the India-Germany Test series recently–after undergoing a surgery on his left knee, was the star of Odisha, scoring a goal and being involved in an assist.

There was little to choose between Manipur and Odisha in the first half with the score reading 2-2. Odisha continued with waves of attack but Manipur defended as if its life was dependent on it. Odisha went on to seal the contest with two quick goals in the fourth and final quarter. A precise pass from just outside the circle by Shilanand Lakra saw Prasad Kujjur tap it home. Within seconds, Sudeep Chirmako unleashed a reverse flick from the left from an acute angle that beat the ‘keeper Hemam Dhanaraj Singh all ends up.

Leading 3-0, Haryana was enjoying most of the ball possession and was looking for a possible win when UP came back strongly in the final quarter.

A yellow card to Pardeep Mor in the last 10 minutes put enormous pressure on Haryana. Goals by Arun Sahani and Manish Yadav, off penalty corners, gave a glimpse of hope to UP. During the time, goalkeeper Pawan Malik produced quite a few effective saves to give Haryana a deserving victory.

The results (Semifinals):

Odisha 4 (Sanjeev Nilam Xess 13, Shilanand Lakra 20, Prasad Kujjur 52, Sudeep Chirmako 52) bt Manipur 2 (Nilakanta Sharma 7, Ganendrajit Ningombam 25).

Haryana 3 (Raman 17, Abhimanyu 20, Rajinder Singh 38) bt UP 2 (Arun Sahani 49, Manish Yadav 53).