Women’s National Hockey: Medal Eludes Odisha Again After 1-4 Quarterfinal Loss

Bhubaneswar: Much was expected of Odisha in the 14th Hockey India Senior Women’s National Championship, but they bowed out in the quarterfinals of the 14th Hockey India Senior Women National Championship.

Having topped Group E with resounding 9-1 and 6-1 wins over Goa and Chandigarh, respectively, Odisha women were no match for Haryana as they lost 1-4 at Pune’s Major Dhyanchand Hockey Stadium on Wednesday.

Odisha conceded two goals in the opening quarter, and trailed 0-3 at half-time.

Though they narrowed the deficit with a field goal in third quarter, Haryana kept pressing hard and wrapped up the game with a fourth goal in the 51st minute.

Odisha, led by Olympian Lilima Minz and featuring 12 senior or junior internationals, thus failed to win a medal in the Senior Women’s Nationals for the second successive year after lifting the title in 2022.