Haryana win 3rd Senior Women National hockey championship

Lucknow: Haryana defeated Railways 4-1 to win the third Hockey India Senior Women National Championship at the Major Dhyan Chand Stadium in the Guru Gobind Singh Sports College, here on Tuesday.

Contrary to the final result, it was Railways who scored their opening goal through Amandeep Kaur in the 15th minute. After conceding an early goal, Haryana forwards played attacking game and built pressure on their opponents. Their efforts bore fruit as Haryana scored through Udita (34th, 65th min) and Narinder (47th, 49th min) to seal the match in their favour. Railways wasted numerous scoring chances as they failed to convert as many as 10 penalty corners. Meanwhile, Jharkhand defeated Punjab 2-1 to finish third in the championship. Jharkhand, who led 1-0 at the half time, scored through Ebha Kerketta in the 30th minute by converting a penalty corner. In the 37th minute Basanti Kachhap scored another goal to help Jharkhand take a 2-0 lead. Punjab managed to reduce the margin in the 46th minute through a penalty corner strike by Sukhjit Kaur. Results: Final: Haryana 4 (Udita 34, 65, Narinder 47, 49) beat Railways 1 (Amandeep Kaur 15). 3rd-4th place match: Jharkhand 2 (Ebha Kerketta 30, Basanti Kachhap 37) beat Punjab 1 (Sukhjit Kaur 46). PTI