Chennai: Odisha has been the national capital of hockey for quite a few years. But they had never won the men’s National championship.
That anomaly was corrected on a sunny afternoon at Chennai’s Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium on Saturday as Odisha outplayed Haryana 5-1 in the final of the 14th Hockey India Senior Men’s National Championship 2024.
Shilanand Lakra scored a hat-trick — all field goals — in the second session after Rajat Akash Tirkey had found the mark in the 11th minute, followed by a penalty stroke conversion by Pratap Lakra.
Shilanand was presented the Player of the Match award.
Congratulations @shilahockey32 for getting awarded as the player of the match 👏🏻#odishaforhockey #odisha #hockey #bhubaneswar #rourkela #hockeyindia #kalingastadium #birsamundahockeystadium pic.twitter.com/wmXfaVdJL1
— Hockey Association of Odisha (@OdishaHockey) November 16, 2024
Tamil Nadu’s deputy CM Udayanidhi Stalin handed over the trophy to the Odisha team in the presence of Hockey India president and Odisha hockey legend Dilip Tirkey .
Odisha Governor Raghubar Das and chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi congratulated the Odisha team on its historic victory.
Hon’ble Governor Shri @dasraghubar congratulated the Odisha Hockey team (@OdishaHockey) on their historic first-ever victory at the 14th Hockey India Senior Men National Championship 2024 by beating Team Haryana! 🏆 pic.twitter.com/yGpZodsQWI
— Governor Odisha (@GovernorOdisha) November 16, 2024
Huge congratulations to the #Odisha Hockey team on clinching their historic first ever gold medal at the 14th Hockey India Senior Men National Championship 2024! 🏆
The Odisha team triumphed over Hockey Haryana today, marking a major milestone.
#OdishaForHockey@OdishaHockey pic.twitter.com/Jlp8XXx7KK
— CMO Odisha (@CMO_Odisha) November 16, 2024
Odisha’s best performance in the Nationals before this was a third-place finish.
The state women’s team did win the senior National championship two years ago.
