HOCKEY | Jugraj strikes twice as Punjab men reclaim national title

Punjab defeats Madhya Pradesh 4-1 in Men's National Hockey Championships final, with Uttar Pradesh securing third place.

Jhansi: Former champion Punjab overwhelmed a fighting Madhya Pradesh to reclaim the title 4-1 in the final of the 15th Men’s National Hockey Championships at the Major Dhyan Chand Stadium here on Tuesday.

A star-studded Punjab side featuring a bulk of current and former national team players including India vice-captain Hardik Singh and coached by former India coach Rajinder Singh was always favourite for the title but knew it won’t be easy after having suffered its only defeat in the competition to MP in the pool stages.

Playing aggressively from the beginning Punjab, led by a tireless Hardik in the middle, had the bulk of possession. It created enough chances including a penalty corner in the 24th minute but was unable to break past the MP defence and goalkeeper Sanjay in a free-flowing game, before a stick check by Jarmanpreet Singh gave MP its first PC and Pratap Lakra made no mistake slamming past Krishan Pathak three minutes from half time for the opener.

Stung, Punjab hit back immediately and was rewarded by a PC and equaliser 25 seconds before break. Post resumption, Punjab continued to push hard and was rewarded when Jaskaran Singh lifted the rebound past goalkeeper Princedeep Singh after Gursahibjit Singh’s shot was saved in the 38th minute to go ahead. Maninder Singh’s rasping reverse hit from an acute angle in the 46th minute further extended the lead and thereafter it was all Punjab and even though a desperate MP tried to fight back, there was little it could do.

Earlier in the day, host Uttar Pradesh rode on overall dominance and control of the game and finished third in the competition, ending its campaign with a 5-1 win against Manipur in the bronze medal play-off.

The results: Final: Punjab 4 (Jugraj Singh 30, 49, Jaskaran Singh 38, Maninder Singh 46) beat Madhya Pradesh 1 (Pratap Lakra 28).

3-4 play-off: Uttar Pradesh 5 (Sourabh Kushwaha 22, 49, Shardanand Tiwari 35, Atul Deep 48, Shivam Anand 60) beat Manipur 1 (Dhananjoy Meetei 45).