Gangpur-Odisha and Bengal will meet in the Sunday’s final of the fifth Hockey India junior men’s National championship (B Division).
In the semifinals here on Saturday, Gangpur registered a 3-1 win over Mumbai while Bengal defeated Puducherry 5-3.
In the first semifinal, Mumbai took an early lead with forward Vinay Valmiki converting a penalty-corner in the 23rd minute. Mumbai led 1-0 at half-time.
In the second half, Gangpur regrouped and combined well to score thrice.
Pratap Lakra equalised in the 39th minute with a penalty-corner conversion. Sanjay Xalxo (46) and Sibren Lakra (69) added to the tally.
In the other semifinal, Raushan Kumar scored a hat-trick for Bengal, while Nitish Neupane and Gurpreet Singh scored a goal each.
Puducherry’s P. Thiru Murugan scored a brace, while forward V. Veera Thamizhan added another. The winner led 3-1 at half-time.
The results (semifinals): Gangpur-Odisha 3 (Pratap Lakra 39, Sanjay Xalxo 46, Sibren Lakra 69) bt Mumbai 1 (Vinay Valmiki 23).
Bengal 5 (Nitish Neupane 1, Gurpreet Singh 12, Raushan Kumar 28, 50, 54) bt Puducherry 3 (P. Thiru Murugan 9, 53, V. Veera Thamizhan 64).
