Hockey Odisha emerged victorious after defeating Uttar Pradesh Hockey 4-3 in a tense shootout in the Final match of the 9th Hockey India Junior Men National Championship 2019 (A Division). The two teams played a high-voltage game to draw 1-1 in regulation time but Hockey Odisha held their nerves to out perform Uttar Pradesh Hockey in the shootout.
It was skillful goalkeeping by Sahil Kumar Nayak and well-prepared strikers Prakash Dhir, Sushil Dhanwar, Laban Lugun and Kirshna Tirkey who scored to ensure their team went home with the title. Earlier, in regulation time, Sushant Toppo had scored in the 30th minute for Hockey Odisha and Shivam Ananad equalised in the 44th minute for Uttar Pradesh Hockey.
In the 3rd/4th placing match, Hockey Haryana beat Madhya Pradesh Hockey Academy 2-1. Though it was Madhya Pradesh Hockey Academy who made the first breakthrough with a 5th minute goal through Haider Ali but Hockey Haryana remained poised to bounce back with goals by Boby Singh Dhami in the 29th minute and Parmeet in the 39th minute. They played a disciplined defensive structure to ensure Madhya Pradesh Hockey Academy made no potential strikes on goal.
