Chennai, (Samajweekly) Hockey Punjab claimed the Gold medal after their penalty shootout triumph over defending Champions Hockey Haryana in the Final of the 13th Hockey India Senior Men National Championship 2023, here on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu overcame Hockey Karnataka in penalty shootouts to claim the Bronze Medal.
Hockey Punjab defeated Hockey Haryana 2-2 (9-8 SO) in the Final of the 13th Hockey India Senior Men National Championship 2023 to clinch the title. Hockey Punjab started the match strong, scoring the first goal in the 13th minute thanks to Harjeet Singh. However, Hockey Haryana’s Sanjay (25′) scored from a penalty corner to level the score. In the second half, Hockey Punjab’s Captain Harmanpreet Singh (42′) scored a powerful drag flick from a penalty corner to put his team in the lead. But Hockey Haryana’s Rajant (50′) scored again to equalize and take the game to penalty shootouts.
During the shootouts, Sanjay, Deepak, and Abhishek scored for Hockey Haryana while Harmanpreet Singh, Simranjeet Singh, and Sukhjeet Singh scored for Hockey Punjab, taking the match to sudden death. In the seventh penalty shootout, Simranjeet Singh scored, securing the hard-fought victory for Hockey Punjab.
In the 3rd/4th place match Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu defeated Hockey Karnataka by 5-3 in penalty shootouts after the game was tied at the 3-3 draw at the end of regulation time. BP Somanna (4’) scored the first goal of the game for Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu from a penalty corner. But Hockey Karnataka clawed their way back into the game with Captain Gowda Sheshe (12’), Harish Mutagar (34’), and Indian Men’s Hockey Team forward Mohammed Raheel Mouseen (38’) scoring a goal each. Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu equalised through Sundarapandi (40’) and Indian Men’s Hockey Team forward Karthi Selvam (52’), forcing the game to penalty shootouts.
Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu Captain J Joshua Benedict Wesely, Kanagaraj Selvaraj, Dhanush M, Sundarapandi, and H Shyam Kumar all scored in the penalty shootouts while goalkeeper S Senthamizh Arasu stood tall for his side to complete the emphatic comeback victory and clinch the Bronze medal.
