Bhubaneswar: Odisha girls were far superior to Chhattisgarh as they sailed into the semifinals of the 14th Hockey India Junior Women’s National Championship.
Playing the last quarterfinal, Odisha notched up a convincing 5-1 win at Ranchi. Odisha will face Madhya Pradesh for a place in the title round, after the latter ousted Uttar Pradesh 2-0 in the first quarterfinal.
In the other last-eight clashes, Jharkhand defeated Maharashtra 3-0 and Haryana got the better of Punjab 3-1.
Chhattisgarh seemed to have got the perfect start against Odisha as skipper Lahare Mamteshwari scored in the opening minute.
However, they failed to hold on to their slim advantage for long.
Tanuja Toppo levelled scores after 11 minutes. There was no looking back for Odisha thereafter as Priyanka Kujur put them in front in the 20th minute.
Rambha Kujur netted a brace (29th & 33th minute), while Karuna Minz (32nd) also found the target.
Priyanka Kujur was adjudged as the player of the match.