Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): The 13th Hockey India Sub Junior Women National Championship 2023 became a surreal tournament for the Madhya Pradesh Sub Junior Women's Hockey team as they played in the same stadium where the Hockey World Cup was held in January.
The 13th Hockey India Sub Junior Women National Championship 2023 concluded on Sunday at Birsa Munda International Hockey Stadium, Odisha. This is the same stadium where the Men's FIH Hockey World Cup was held in January. The MP contingent made it to the quarterfinals but failed to make it to the semis.
"We have a great stadium in MP too; our turf is similar to this, but here we felt as if we were playing for the country. We felt as if we were playing the World Cup. The hockey atmosphere here in Odisha is amazing. We are junior players, but playing on a turf where the World Cup was held gave us goosebumps," said Madhya Pradesh team captain Krishna Sharma.
The Madhya Pradesh team lost to the Odisha team in the quarterfinals. But they didn’t lose their spirits. The state team even appreciated the Odisha crowd, saying, "The benches were not empty; it was a good feeling to play in front of an audience, and they even cheered for us."
The MP hockey team had 18 players including Apoorva Bundela (Goal Keeper), Gungun Kaur, Radhika Dandotiya, Ronak Parmar, Samiksha Yadav, Chanchal Yadav, Krishna Sharma (Captain), Ritika Ahirwar, Mitali Sharma, Sujata Jayant, Kanak Pal, Kajal, NingombamRojee Devi.
