Haryana emerge champion at national championship

Bhopal: Sandeep Singh and Mandeep Antil scored a goal each as Haryana edged past Karnataka 2-1 to lift the national hockey championship title here on Sunday.

V.R. Raghunath was the lone scorer for the Southern side, which had to be content with a runners-up finish. Earlier, Prabhdeep Singh hit a brace as Punjab outplayed Jharkhand 4-1 to finish third. Prabhdeep put his side ahead when he converted a penalty corner in the 10th minute but Jharkhand drew parity eight minutes later through Bikesh Toppo. Punjab went all out in the second half, striking thrice to take the game away from their rivals. Pushing the team ahead yet again was Baljinder Singh, who found the net through a short corner in the 43th minute. Prabhdeep consolidated the lead by scoring his second goal eight minutes later and Akashdeep Singh (66th) completed the tally for the winners. Jharkhand players have themselves to blame for the defeat as they did not cash in on the chances they got. PTI