Manipur Stuns Punjab, Odisha Enters Semis in Hockey Nationals

The quarterfinal matches of the Hockey India-14th Senior National men's championship witnessed thrilling contests and unexpected upsets. After eight days of largely one-sided matches in the Group stage, the last-eight ties at the SDAT-Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium turned out to be nail-biting affairs.

In the biggest upset of the tournament, Manipur, a North-Eastern state, stunned defending champion Punjab via a penalty shoot-out (3-3 in regulation time and 4-3 in shoot-out). Manipur's experienced players, including Olympians Nilakanta Sharma, Kothajit Singh, and Chinglensana Singh, played a crucial role in the victory.

Another major upset occurred when Odisha entered its first semifinals with a hard-fought victory over Karnataka in a shoot-out (3-1). Odisha's Mangal Lohar, Shilanand Lakra, and Pratap Lakra scored the goals in the shoot-out.

Haryana, the two-time champion and last year's finalist, staged a remarkable comeback to script a 5-1 win over Maharashtra. Trailing 0-1 till the third quarter, Haryana scored all its five goals in the fourth quarter, with Rohit scoring a hat-trick.

The host team, Uttar Pradesh, defeated Tamil Nadu 3-1 to secure a place in the semifinals. Chandan Singh, Rajkumar Pal, and Lalit Kumar Upadhyay scored for UP.

The semifinals will be played on Friday, with UP taking on Haryana and Manipur clashing with Odisha. The final is scheduled for Saturday.

Tags: #Hockey, #HockeyIndia, #SeniorNationals, #Quarterfinals, #Upsets