Sub-Jr National Hockey: Odisha Girls Come From Behind To Reach Semis, Ready For Haryana Challenge

Rourkela: Odisha girls came from behind to tame Madhya Pradesh 2-1 and earn a semifinal berth in the 13th Hockey India Sub-Junior National Hockey meet here.

Trailing by a goal, Odisha showed fine spirit to turn the match around. The crowd support at Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium helped them as the home team won 2-1.

Standing between Odisha and a place in the final is last year’s champions Haryana, who walloped Karnataka 14-0.

The other semifinal will pit Jharkhand against Uttar Pradesh.

Looking ahead to Saturday’s clash, Odisha manager-cum-coach Md Ismail sounded optimistic.

“Haryana, no doubt, is a very good team but we are ready to give them a tough competition. Moreover, the crucial win against Madhya Pradesh has boosted our confidence level and made us believe that we are capable of overcoming any challenge,” Ismail told Hockey India.

Ismail lauded his girls for their fighting win over MP.

“It has been a wonderful tournament for us so far. We have been successful in implementing our plans on the field which is the major reason behind our wins. Even in the quarterfinal match against Madhya Pradesh, despite conceding first, we stuck to our strategy and soak the pressure well which helped us bounce back and win the game,” he observed.