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

Mumbai (Maharashtra), 12 January 2019: Action in the 2nd Khelo India Youth Games 2019 continued here at the Mahindra Hockey Stadium today into its sixth day in the Under-17 Men’s category with Punjab and Haryana winning their respective Semi-Final matches to advance to the Final match of the competition. Whereas, the Under-17 and Under-21 Women’s competition also started here today with Jharkhand, Chandigarh and Odisha registering victories in the Under-17 Women’s category, and Jharkhand and Odisha winning their Under-21 Women’s category matches.

In the Under-17 Men’s category, it was Punjab who secured their berth in the Final match as they defeated Odisha 4-3 in Penalty Shootout with the scores remaining tied at 2-2 after regulation time. The match saw Punjab score first in the 27th minute through Araijeet Hundal but Odisha struck back and scored twice through Sudeep Chirmako (40′) and Bikash Kujur (49′) to take a 2-1 lead. Punjab then equalised in the 54th minute through Prabhsimranjeet Singh to take the match into a Penalty Shootout. In the Shootout, it was Punjab’s Araijeet Hundal, Bharat Thakur, Prabhsimranjeet Singh and Simranjot Singh who converted in the 4-3 victory.

In the other Semi-Final match, it was Haryana who registered a hard fought 3-2 victory over Uttar Pradesh. Haryana started the scoring in the 16th minute as Yogesh Singh scored off a Penalty Corner, but Uttar Pradesh equalised in the 32nd minute though skipper Saurabh Anand. Haryana scored twice in the 42nd and 50th minutes through Pankaj and skipper Ankit Malik. Uttar Pradesh did score another goal in the 57th minute through Arun Sahani but it wasn’t enough.

The Final match of the Under-17 Men’s competition will take place on Monday, 14 January 2019 where Punjab will take on Haryana at 1100hrs while Uttar Pradesh will face Odisha at 0900hrs in the third-place classification match.

In the Under-17 Women’s competition, it was Jharkhand who started their campaign with a victory as they defeated Punjab 3-0 in the opening Pool A match. Goals for Jharkhand were scored by Rajni Kerketta (55′, 58′) and Beauty Dung Dung (35′).

In the other Pool A match, Chandigarh defeated Delhi 6-1 to ensure a solid start to the campaign. Goals for Chandigarh were scored by skipper Sonu (36′, 39′, 41′), Priyanka (5′, 11′) and Barkha (38′) while Delhi’s only goal was scored by Sonu (34′).

Pool B’s opening match saw Odisha defeat Maharashtra 5-3 in a high-scoring encounter. Sonia Topno (43′, 55′, 56′) scored a hattrick of goals for Odisha with Neha Lakra (15′) and Dipi Toppo (58′) also getting their names on the score-sheet. For Maharashtra, it was captain Rutuja Pisal (18′, 20′) and Manashri Shedge (37′) who scored the goals.

In the other Pool B match, Haryana and Mizoram played out a 1-1 draw with Mizoram scoring first through Lalneihpuii (32′) and then Haryana equalising in the 44th minute through Gurmail Kaur.

The Under-21 Women’s competition also started today which saw Jharkhand defeat Mizoram 5-2 in the opening Pool A match. Goals for Jharkhand were scored by Albela Rani Toppo (3′, 56′, 59′), Sushma Kumari (9′) and Pinki Ekka (51′) while Lalrindiki (7′) and Marina Lalramnghaki (17′) scored for Mizoram.

In the other Pool A match of the day, Odisha played out a 2-2 draw with hosts Maharashtra. Maharashtra scored the opening goal in the 8th minute through Diksha Patil, but Odisha hit back and scored twice in the 14th and 51st minutes through Rinki Kujur and Dipti Lakra respectively to take the lead. Maharashtra were able to cancel out the lead as Shradha Tiwari (58′) scored for them, meaning both the teams had to split the points on the opening day.