Hockey Punjab crowned as champions of 14th Hockey India Junior Men National C'ship 2024

Jalandhar (Punjab) [India], September 19 : After an exciting eleven days of action-packed performance in the 14th Hockey India Junior Men National Championship 2024, Hockey Punjab clinched the title after defeating Uttar Pradesh Hockey 3-3 (4-3 SO) in the final at the Olympian Surjit Singh Hockey Stadium in Jalandhar.
Hockey Punjab defeated Uttar Pradesh Hockey 3-3 (4-3 SO) in a closely contested final of the 14th Hockey India Junior Men National Championship 2024. Sukhwinder Singh (5'), Jarman Singh (33'), and Jobanpreet Singh (39') scored for Hockey Punjab.
Ajeet Yadav (31') Suraj Pal (48') and Akash Pal (54') scored one goal each for Uttar Pradesh Hockey. In the shootout, Akash Pal, Nitish Bhardwaj and Ajeet Yadav scored for Uttar Pradesh Hockey whereas Hockey Punjab proved out to the better one on the day of the final as Japnit Singh, Sukhwinder Singh, Jarman Singh and Lovenoor Singh scored for Hockey Punjab to lift the trophy.
In the other match, Hockey Haryana defeated Hockey Karnataka 5-0 to steal the third place on the podium. Amit Khasa (30'), Navraj Singh (50'), Nitin (54'), Manish Kumar (55') and Sahil Ruhal (59') scored one goal each for Hockey Haryana and took the game away from Hockey Karnataka.
Earlier in the semi-final, Uttar Pradesh Hockey and Hockey Punjab won the 14th Hockey India Junior Men National Championship 2024 semi-final match.
In the first Semi-Final between Hockey Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh Hockey, it was Uttar Pradesh Hockey which successfully booked their berth in the Final after winning the game 3-1. Rajesh Yadav (41'), Ajeet Kumar (45') and Fahad Khan (57') scored one goal each for the winning side whereas Captain Sunil PB (53') scored the consolation goal for Hockey Karnataka. With this, Uttar Pradesh Hockey became the first team to enter the Final of the tournament.
In the second Semi-Final, Hockey Punjab defeated Hockey Haryana 4-4 (7-6) in a jaw-dropping thriller. Hockey Haryana took the lead from the start of the game as Manish Kumar (9', 21', 36') scored a hattrick early in the game. Navraj Singh (54') also scored one goal each for Hockey Haryana. On the other side, Hockey Punjab who was trailing throughout the game made a strong comeback towards the end of the game.
Japnit Singh (43', 59') scored a brace while Captain Ujwal Singh (50') and Lovenoor Singh (53') as they scored one goal each. In the penalty shootout also, both the teams scored three goals each. Captain Panchal Priskhit, Sunil Maan and Shivam scored for Hockey Haryana. On the other hand, Japnit Singh, Captain Ujwal Singh and Lovenoor Singh scored for Hockey Punjab.
The match then went further into sudden death where Sukhwinder Singh, Lovenoor Singh, Captain Ujwal Singh and Om Rajnesh Saini scored for Hockey Punjab. On the other side, Amit Khasa, Shivam and Captain Prikshit Panchal scored one goal each whereas Ekampreet Singh successfully defended the fourth strike by Manish Kumar for Hockey Punjab resulting in a dramatic victory. With this, Hockey Punjab secured their spot in the Final.