5th Sub-Junior National Hockey Championship 2015 (Women) Division B witnesses exciting clashes during the day as it gets ready to enter the Semi-Final phase on 25th May 2015

–          Hockey Bhopal outwits Hockey Madhya Pradesh 7-3

–         The Mumbai Hockey Association Ltd beats Hockey Himachal 1-0

–          Vidarbha Hockey Association wins 11-1 against Hockey Uttarakhand

–         Chandigarh Olympic Association to clash against Hockey Mizoram in the first semi-final clash

– Hockey Patiala to face the challenge of Hockey Bhopal in the second semi-final match

 Ranchi, 23 May 2015: The 5th Sub-Junior Hockey India National Championship 2015 (Women) Div B saw yet another round of exhilarating hockey as teams battled it out against each other to register wins. While four teams Chandigarh Olympic Association, Hockey Mizoram, Hockey Patiala and Hockey Bhopal are all set for the semi-final clash to be played on Monday, the day saw exciting clashes between teams who looked at ending the tournament on a high. The day started with Hockey Bhopal having a field day as they convincingly beat Hockey Madhya Pradesh to win the match 7-3. In another match The Mumbai Hockey Association Ltd and Hockey Himachal had a tough battle on the field as they strived to score and win. It was the former who scored the sole goal of the game to win 1-0. Vidarbha Hockey Association taking on Hockey Uttarakhand beat them convincingly 11-1 to win the match.

The first match between Hockey Bhopal and Hockey Madhya Pradesh saw the former winning the match 7-3, leaving the latter stunned with their performance. Without wasting time, Hockey Bhopal was in action in the 4^thminute as Priyanka Yadav converted on the penalty corner that the team got in their name. with 1-0 in their favour, Hockey Bhopal doubled their lead in the 8^th minute as Nandani Sanwale scored through a brilliant field effort. Looking at bouncing back, Hockey Madhya Pradesh slammed a brilliant field goal in the 10^th minuet coming from the stick of Divya Lodhe. Undeterred by the goal of the opponents, Hockey Bhopal struck again in the 12^th minute as Nandani Sanwale was in action for the team. continuing their brilliant play, Hockey Bhopal added another three goals to their tally in the 18^th, 24^th and 27^th minute and the scorecard read 6-1 in their favour. Right before going into break, Hockey Madhya Pradesh broke the shackles of the opponents to score their second goal in the 31^st minute. The second half saw strong determination by the defence of the both teams as they ensured goals were not easily scored. The session saw two goals added to the scorecard as both the teams added one goal each to their tally and Hockey Bhopal won the match 7-3.

The second match of the day was a tough clash between The Mumbai Hockey Association Ltd and Hockey Himachal as both teams worked on their skills and tactics to beat the beat each other defence and score. The first half witnessed the players building pressure on each other as they maintained good attack but were unable to capitalise on the chances. When it seemed that session would end in a dry run The Mumbai Hockey Association Ltd broke the deadlock as Jessica D’costa slammed the ball into the nets, giving her team the much required lead in the game. With The Mumbai Hockey Association Ltd leading the game 1-0, the second half was again a struggle for both the teams as they looked at opportunities to score. But with no further goals scored the game ended with The Mumbai Hockey Association Ltd taking the game 1-0.

Vidarbha Hockey Association taking on Hockey Uttarakhand beat them convincingly 11-1 to win the match. just 14 minutes into the game Vidarbha Hockey Association successfully broke the shackles of the opponents to register the first goal of the match which came from the stick of Ashwani Jadhao. With the lead in their kitty, Vidarbha Hockey Association continued their attack and they capitalised on a penalty corer on the 31^st minute as Sharau Shivankar did not mistake in finding the nets. Going into the second half with a 2-0, Vidarbha Hockey Association started looking out to carry on with their form and add further to their goal tally but immediately into the session, Hockey Uttarakhand’s Garima entered the D and deflected the ball into the nets and taking the score to 1-2. Not wanting to lose the hold on the game, Vidarbha Hockey Association went all out and Sharau Shivankar scored through a field effort in the 44^th minute. Not stopping the team added eight more goals as they scored in regular intervals and won the match 11-1.

Results of the Day

Pool C – Hockey Bhopal 7 Nandani Sanwale (8 min-FG, 12 min-FG, 27 min-PC), Priyanka Yadav (4 min-PC), Chetna Rajni (18 min-PC) Kanchan Batham (24 min-FG, 70 min-FG) vs Hockey Madhya Pradesh 3 Divya Lodhe (10 min-FG), Sanju Prajapati (31 min-FG), Renu Pasi (61 min-FG)

 Pool C – The Mumbai Hockey Association Ltd 1 Jessica D’Costa (29 min-FG) vs Hockey Himachal 0

Pool D – Vidarbha Hockey Association 11 Ashwini Jadhao (14min- FG, 54min-FG), Sharau Shivankar (31min-PC, 44min-FG, 50min-FG, 53min-PC, 57min-FG, 59 min-FG, 62 min-FG, 68 min-FG), Niharika Thakur (47 min-FG) vs Hockey Uttarakhand 1 (37 min-FG)

Pool D – Hockey Mizoram vs Goans Hockey – team did not turn up

The last match for the day will not have any effect to the semi-final line-up – Hockey Bihar vs Hockey Jammu & Kashmir

Semi-Final Schedule (25 May 2015)