Jhansi (Madhya Pradesh): Hockey Madhya Pradesh defeated Hockey Haryana 1-0 to win the 11th Hockey India Senior Womens National Championship 2021 here in Jhansi on Saturday, while Hockey Punjab went past Hockey Maharashtra 2-1 to finish third in the competition.
Hockey Madhya Pradesh's Kanchan Nidhi Kerketta (9th minute) found the back of the net early in the final against Hockey Haryana and thereafter the Hockey Madhya Pradesh side kept Hockey Haryana at bay throughout the game and walked away as winners of the tournament.
Speaking about their victory, Hockey Madhya Pradesh coach Vandana Uikey said, "It feels good to win the tournament, especially because we have won the Hockey India Senior Women's National Championship for the first time. It was a very close match. The players played very well. We had more ball possession than the other team."
Uikey also spoke about the aspects that impressed her the most about the Hockey Madhya Pradesh side in the final.
"The players played an outstanding game. The fitness level shown by the team in the final was really good. That was an advantage for us. Our goalkeeper Deepa Sharma played outstandingly as well. She saved a lot of goals during the match. This tournament was a good experience for the team as well."
Earlier on Saturday, Hockey Punjab earned a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Hockey Maharashtra to finish third. Captain Reena Rani (44th) and Sarabdeep Kaur (50th) scored a goal each for the winning side, while Priya Dubey (18th) scored the only goal for Hockey Maharashtra.
