Patiala boys overcome Himachal 3-1, win title

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, July 2

Hockey Patiala overcame Hockey Him 3-1 to win the 9th Hockey India Sub-Junior Men National Championship 2019 (B Division) in Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh, on Tuesday. The hosts, Chhattisgarh Hockey, finished third in the tournament.

Savraj Singh put Patiala ahead in the 11th minute, while Sehajbir Singh doubled the lead a minute later. Sohib Akhtar then made it 3-0 for the side in the 33rd minute.

Sagar Nanda reduced the deficit for Himachal in the 40th minute, but Patiala boys guarded their fort well in the remaining part of the game to earn a 3-1 win.   

Earlier, in the semifinals, Hockey Him had beat Chhattisgarh Hockey 3-0 on penalties after the two sides were tied 1-1 at the end of the regulation time. Sagar Yadav (24th) and Gautam Paswan (29th) scored for Chhattisgarh Hockey and Hockey Him respectively. 

In the penalty shootout, Sagar Nanda, Deepak and Javed Ansari scored for Hockey Him. 

In the second semifinal, Patiala registered a 4-1 win over Bengaluru Hockey Association. Savraj (18th, 60th) scored a brace, while Sehajbir (45th) and Avkash Singh Mann (55th) added a goal each to the Patiala tally. 

Abhishek Yadav (43rd) was the lone scored for Bengaluru Hockey Association.

Meanwhile, Chhattisgarh Hockey finished third after defeating Bengaluru Hockey Association 4-2 in the playoff. Sonu Nishad (5th), Sagar Yadav (28th), skipper Tarun Yadav (41st) and Gulshan Kaushik (55th) scored for Chhattisgarh, while Aryan Xess (45th) and Sandeep Toppo (47th) hit home for Bengaluru.