Odisha hockey team defeated the team, Haryana, which has been getting the championship twice. Odisha made goal 5-1 to win the national title for the first time with persistence and resilience.
Shilanand Lakra proved himself as the star player of the Odisha hockey team by making a hat-trick, whereas Rajat Akash Tirkey and Pratap Lakra scored one goal each.
Odisha broke the shackles in the 11th minute when Sunit Lakra knocked down his way into the circle by flaunting his talents from the right quarter. He then passed the ball to Sudeep Chirmako, who hit a calculated shot by making it a wonderful goal. Goalkeeper Pawan could not clear the ball cleanly and Rajat grabbed this as an apt chance to bring Odisha ahead with a goal.
On the other hand keeper Sahil Kumar Nayak showed a skilled performance by hindering three scoring opportunities for Haryana through penalty corners in the second quarter.
For Odisha’s second goal, Sudeep obstructed a ball near the halfway the divider line and passed it to Ajay Kumar Ekka. Ajay was brought down inside the D by Pankaj and the referee without any hesitation awarded a penalty stroke. Pratap (39th) made no mistake and doubled the lead.
Towards the end, the team Haryana drained completely and the team Odisha outpaced them by grabbing the opportunity on different points. This gave chance Shilanand to make free runs, and the attacker scored the final two goals easily. Meanwhile, Haryana was only able to convert one PC out of the 10 opportunities and that did not go in their favour.
Odisha coach Bijay Kumar Lakra praised the Odisha team for performing good. He states, “We wanted to score first and put the opposition on the back foot and that happened. First rushers, Kerobin Lakra and Amit Kumar Toppo, thrust the game plan helping the team in showing favorable outcomes”.
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