BHUBANESWAR 06-May-2018
Hockey Gangpur Odisha won the bronze medal in the 8th Hockey India Junior Men National Championship (Division-A), defeating last three-time champions Hockey Odisha 6-1 in the 3rd/4th place match at Bhopal today. Hockey Gangpur-Odisha, in fact, bagged a double of sort as their junior women’s team also secured bronze earlier in the day.
Led by Pratap Lakra, Hockey Gangpur-Odisha junior men played for the 3rd/4th place after losing to Hockey Haryana 2-3 in the semifinals. They reached the last-four stage, defeating Uttar Pradesh Hockey 6-4 via shoot out in the quarterfinals.
Hockey Gangpur-Odisha reached the last-eight stage, finishing second position in Poo D with three wins and one loss. They beat Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu 7-1, Punjab & Sind Bank 5-3 and Hockey Himachal 5-0, but lost to Sports Authority of India 2-5.
On the other hand, Hockey Odisha junior men played for the 3rd/4th place after losing to Hockey Punjab 2-4 via shoot out in the semifinals. Led by Suman Beck, Hockey Odisha qualified for the semiffinals by edging out Madhya Pradesh Hockey Academy 4-2 via shoot out in the quarterfinals. Earlier at the league stage, Hockey Odisha won all four of their league matches in Pool B to book berth in quarterfinals. They beat Hockey Bhopal 4-1, Hockey Chandigarh 3-1, Hockey Maharashtra 6-2 and Delhi Hockey 4-0.
