The Hindu : Sport / Hockey : Haryana, Manipur in semifinals

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jun 09, 2004

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Sport - Hockey

Haryana, Manipur in semifinals

By Our Special Correspondent

BANGALORE, JUNE 8. Haryana defeated Punjab 3-0 and Manipur drubbed Kerala 7-0 in the quarterfinals of the ONGC junior National women's hockey tournament at the Karnataka State Hockey Association Stadium here on Tuesday. Host Karnataka has a tough fixture against Orissa and Jharkhand faces Himachal Pradesh in the second set of quarterfinals on Wednesday.

Haryana dominated the match against Punjab from the very beginning and a penalty corner in the first minute of play was fruitful with Manu beating goalkeeper Yogita Bali all ends up. Haryana attacked relentlessly and increased the lead half way into the first half. Minni wove through the field and dodged her way past the Punjab defence. Her attempt was padded off by Yogita Bali. But Harpreet Kaur latched on to the rebound and slammed the ball in.

In the 22nd minute Jatinder Kaur converted the team's second penalty corner. The second half was a lacklustre affair with many chances being wasted.

Kerala started off well against Manipur and even made a few raids into Manipur territory. However, Manipur's defence, patrolled by skipper Punam Devi and Yashodha Devi, proved to be tough customers. Chanchan Devi notched up the first goal (off a rebound from Ranjitha's first attempt) for Manipur and that seemed to affect Kerala's morale. The second penalty corner push in was nicely stopped by Ranjitha and relayed to Punam Devi who found the target. Punam Devi was spot on again off the next penalty corner and Ranjitha Devi, who played a pivotal role in Manipur's win, scored her side's fourth goal three minute before the break.

Kerala made some valiant attempts to get back in the game but was completely out of luck. As many as five definite scoring chances were wasted. Manipur meanwhile switched to attack and Nirmala Devi slotted home the fifth goal. Ranjitha scored her second goal off a penalty corner and followed it up with a last minute goal off a crisp pass from Priya Chanu.

Rekha Bhide, who represented India in the 1980 Moscow Olympics and an Arjuna Awardee who is officiating as judge in this tournament, was alert to spot a possible infringement by the Manipur side before the start. I. Chantombi Devi who has represented Manipur in the senior Nationals was therefore according to the rules of the tournament ineligible to play here. She was on the team list and was asked to vacate the bench by Rekha Bhide.

The results:

Haryana 3 (Manu, Harpreet Kaur, Jatinder Kaur) bt Punjab 0.

Manipur 7 (S. Ranjitha Devi 3, Punam Devi 2, Chanchan Devi, Nirmala Devi) bt Kerala 0.

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