Results from 2nd Khelo India Youth Games 2019 (Under 17 & Under 21 Men and Women)

Mumbai (Maharashtra), 14 January 2019: The Under-17 Men’s hockey competition of the 2nd Khelo India Youth Games 2019 came to a conclusion here at the Mahindra Hockey Stadium today as Haryana were crowned the Champions after defeating Punjab 1-0 in a closely contested Final. Whereas, action in the Under-17 and Under-21 Women’s categories continued as Haryana and Odisha won their matches in the Under-17 Women’s competition while Haryana and Punjab won their matches in the Under-21 Women’s competition.

In the Under-17 Men’s category, it was Haryana who produced a hard-fought 1-0 victory against Punjab in the Final to be crowned as Champions. It was a nervy encounter for both the teams for most part of the first two quarters, but it was Haryana who finally managed to break the deadlock in the 40th minute as they scored through a Penalty Corner which was converted by Sahil Sharma. Punjab threatened the Haryana defence in the closing stages but could not find the equaliser and had to settle as the Runners-Up.

Whereas, in the Bronze Medal match, it was Odisha who came out on top as they defeated Uttar Pradesh 3-2 in the Penalty Shootout after all the four quarters went goal-less. After an intense 60 minutes, both the teams had to fight it out in the Penalty Shootout where Laban Lugun, Sunil  Jojo and captain SunitLakra scored for Odisha while Chandan Yadav and Deepak Patel were the only two players who converted for Uttar Pradesh. With scores tied at 2-2 after four shots each, the deciding moment came when Odisha’s captain SunitLakra scored past Uttar Pradesh’s Goalkeeper Vikas Gaur, and ArunSahani failed to covert for Uttar Pradesh.

In the Under-17 Women’s competition, Haryana defeated hosts Maharashtra 5-0 in their Pool B match. Goals for Haryana were scored by Deepika (38′, 46′, 50′), Gurmail Kaur (9′) and Manju Chorsiya (16′). While the other Pool B match saw Odisha defeat Mizoram by a fine margin of 4-2 to remain top of the Pool with six points from two matches. Goals for Odisha were scored by Neha Lakra (1′, 47′) and Nimabati Singh (27′, 45′) while Lalneihpuii (15′) and Vanlalhriatpuii (17′) scored for Mizoram.

Whereas, the Under-21 Women’s competition saw Haryana win their second consecutive match to top Pool B with six points as they defeated Uttar Pradesh 4-2. Haryana scored all their four goals inside 34 minutes through Amrinder Kaur (11′, 14′), Gagandeep Kaur (23′) and Reet (34′). Uttar Pradesh tried to make a come-back into the match but only managed two goals which were both scored by Sonal Tiwari (34′, 36′).

In the other Pool B match, it was Punjab who registered their first win of the competition as they beat Chandigarh 7-1. Goals for Punjab were scored by GurleenGerwal (15′, 34′), Gurkamal Kaur (25′, 38′), Raman Kaur (43′, 53′) and skipper Baljeet Kaur (8′) while Chandigarh’s solitary goal came in the 54th minute through a Penalty Corner which was converted by Sumanpreet Kaur.