The 2nd Hockey India Junior Men’s and Women’s Divisional Tournament was held at Rajnandgaon (Chhattisgarh). Both teams from Maharashtra finished runners-up. The Maharashtra boy’s hockey team lost to Madhya Pradesh 4-6. The girls’ team lost 2-3 to Madhya Pradesh in a shootout after a 2-2 draw at the scheduled time.
They performed well against Madhya Pradesh. Although Subhan Abid of 11th scored from a penalty corner to give Madhya Pradesh the lead. Maharashtra took a 3-1 lead in the first half thanks to goals from Arjun Hargude (17th, 21st) and Karthik Pathare (22nd).
Sensational comeback from Madhya Pradesh to win the championship
However, Jitendra Singh scored two amazing goals in the 50th, and 56th minute after the interval. That saw the Madhya Pradesh team draw 3-3. Anand Yadav in the 55th, Tushar Parmar (58th), and Vivek Pal (60th) minute extended the aggregate lead to 6-3 for the fired-up opposition. This lead was decisive. Maharashtra’s Santosh Birajdar (57th) reduced Madhya Pradesh’s lead slightly when he scored on a penalty stroke.
In the women’s final, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh scored two goals each in scheduled time. Chanu Khaidem Shilema (22nd) and Palak Gupta (23rd) gave their team the lead through penalty corners. Juthika Bodkhe (40th) and Z Laldintluangi (54th) scored from penalty corners to make it 2-2. Kajal, Chanu Shailima, and Huda Khan scored goals for the Madhya Pradesh team in the penalty shootout. Only Akansha Pal and Tanushree Kadu could score from Maharashtra.
