Manipur beat Uttarakhand in Junior Women National Championship

The tournament has seen some close matches.

Day four at the 11th Hockey India Junior Women National Championship 2021 witnessed some hard-fought matches here on Saturday. In the opening match of the day, Hockey Uttarakhand lost a close match against Manipur Hockey 5-7 in Pool D. Manipur Hockey dominated with a good start where they took a 4-1 lead by half-time.

It was Huidrom Bidyaluxmi (2') of Manipur who scored the opening goal after which Kamla Devi (8', 11') struck twice. Takhellambam Ayingbi (26') scored the fourth goal. For Hockey Uttarakhand, on the other hand, Deepa Parihar (27') and Aanchal (32') scored to reduce the lead to 2-4.

Ayingbi (36') scored again for Manipur Hockey to take their lead to 5-2 but in a sensational comeback Hockey Uttarakhand scored three goals to equalise. It was Nisha (41'), Bhawana Koranga (44') and Preeti Sharma (46') who struck the goals. But Kamala Devi (48') and Ayingbi (52') scored a goal each to finish the match in Manipur Hockey's favour. 

In a Pool E match, Delhi Hockey completely dominated the proceedings against Hockey Gujarat as they won 12-1. Goals were scored by, Muskan (7', 33’, 39'), Priyanka (19',29’, 32’ 55'), Divya (27', 35'), Sonu (39', 44', 50') for the winning team. For Hockey Gujarat, Prachi Nikam (39') scored the lone goal. 

In a Pool G match, Odisha continued their winning streak as they beat Chhattisgarh Hockey 9-0. It was Neha Lakra (3'), Kamla Singh (5'), Sandhya Kujur (9'), Nimabati Singh (13'), Aten Topno (23'), Nikita Toppo (28'), Toppo Dipi Monika (54', 58'), Neha Toppo (57') who scored in Odisha's fine victory. 

Hockey Himachal lost 1-3 in a closely-fought match against Hockey Madhya Pradesh in another Pool G match. Though it was Hockey Himachal who opened the scoreboard in the 22nd minute through Neha Kumari's goal, Hockey Madhya Pradesh did well to make a late comeback with goals by Renu Bhardwaj (49'), Kamini Vanshkar (51'), Poonam Pal (55'). This ensured they took home three points from the match. 

In a Pool F match, Hockey Chandigarh beat Hockey Bihar 9-1. The goals for the winning team were scored by Priyanka (15'), Parneet Kaur (19'), Anmoldeep Kaur (26'), Palak (34', 58'), Kavita (34', 52'), Sonia Devi (44', 54'). Pooja Kumari (55'), meanwhile, scored the consolation goal for Hockey Bihar. 

Goans Hockey secured a hard-fought 4-0 win in their Pool F encounter against Hockey Jammu & Kashmir. Yukta Mahatao (16'), Nikita Naik (45') and Prajwala Harmalkar (48', 51') scored for the winning team and helped bag the three points from the match. 

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