Haryana claimed the 12th Hockey India Senior Men’s National Championships beating Tamil Nadu 3-1 via penalties here on Sunday. The teams were tied 1-1 at the end of regulation time.
In a largely defensive game with teams relying more on opposition mistakes than being adventurous themselves in creating chances, Haryana took the lead when Deepak converted a penalty corner in the fourth minute.
Tamil Nadu stepped up to the challenge and levelled six minutes later through Saravana Kumar but things remained unchanged after that. The next 50 minutes saw few chances at either end with the ball remaining in play in the midfield most of the time.
In the shootout, Somjeet, Prabhjot Singh and Pankaj were successful for Haryana while Dhanush M. was the lone scorer for Tamil Nadu.
The playoff for the third place in the morning was a repeat of last year’s clash and comparatively faster-paced with Karnataka retaining its bronze medal with a 4-3 win against Maharashtra.
The teams kept exchanging the lead with goals at regular intervals as Karnataka went ahead twice only for Maharashtra to level scores. Karnataka upped the tempo in the final quarter as Nachappa I.R. managed to convert a penalty corner in the 52nd minute for the winner.
The scores: Final: Haryana 1 (Deepak) bt Tamil Nadu 1 (Saravana Kumar) in shootout; 3/4 place: Karnataka 4 (Punith R, Yathish Kumar B, Nachappa I.R., Deekshith SP) bt Maharashtra 3 (Rajendra Pawar, Prajwal Moharkar, Harish Shindgi).
