Chennai edged out host Tiruchi 4-3 via tiebreaker to clinch the title in the senior inter-District men’s hockey championship, organised by Unified Tiruchi District Hockey, here on Monday. The teams were locked 3-3 at the end of regulation time.
Kannan struck twice in the first 15 minutes to put Tiruchi in a comfortable position. Chennai players regrouped quickly and Ashok Kumar converted a penalty corner to reduce the deficit.
Chennai got off to a flying start in the second session. Raja found the target with a reverse hit in the 44th minute to level the scores and Vinoth Rayar put Chennai ahead a couple minutes later.
Chennai could have increased the lead had its players capitalised on some easy chances. Tiruchi drew parity when Kannan completed his hat-trick in the 65th minute.
In the tiebreaker, Krishnakumar, Gunasekaran and Sivanesan scored for the host, while the shots from Raghunath and Raman were saved by Chennai goalkeeper Barani Raja. Dhamu, Dinesh Babu, Raja and Iyappa netted for Chennai.
Other results: Third place: Madurai 4 (Ramadoss 2, Sathya 2) bt Tuticorin 0.
Semifinals: Chennai 8 (fulltime: Dhamu; tiebreaker: Raja, Iyappa, Shyam Kumar; Sudden death: Raja, Iyappa, Shyam Kumar, Dhamu) bt Madurai 7 (fulltime: Ramadoss; tiebreaker: Palani, Kanthaguru, Gnanavel; Sudden death: Palani, Kanthaguru, Gnanavel); Tiruchi 6 (Gunasekaran 2, Raghunath 2, Kannan, Mohan) bt Tuticorin 2 (Sunil, Thangaraj). — Principal Correspondent
