Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Roundglass Punjab Hockey Club Academy, Raja Karan Hockey Academy, Namdhari XI and Madhya Pradesh Hockey Academy stormed into the semi-finals of the 1st Hockey India junior men academy national championship with remarkable victories here on Sunday.
In the first quarterfinal, Roundglass Punjab Hockey Club Academy scripted a thrilling 4-3 win in the shootout against SAI-Academy (Kolkata), following a hard-fought 2-2 draw in the regulation time.
Despite holding a 2-0 lead with goals from Gursharanpreet Singh (29') and Savraj Singh (30'), Roundglass Punjab Hockey Club Academy were pegged back by SAI-Academy (Kolkata) through goals from Manish Yadav (33') and Suresh Mahto (41').
Roundglass Punjab Hockey Club Academy goalkeeper Amritpal Singh made a remarkable save in the sudden death to help his team advance to the semi-finals of the inaugural edition of the tournament.
In the second quarterfinal, Raja Karan Hockey Academy registered a clinical 7-1 win against Salute Hockey Academy to book their place in the semifinals.
Lovepreet Singh (4', 27', 48') scored a hat-trick, while Shubham (20', 44') bagged a brace. Agyapal (38') and captain Sagar Saini (56') scored a goal each for Raja Karan Hockey Academy. Sumit (40') scored the only goal for Salute Hockey Academy.
In the third quarterfinal, Namdhari XI held their nerves to register a thrilling 5-4 win in the shootout against SGPC Hockey Academy, following a dramatic 4-4 draw in the regulation time.
Namdhari XI's goalscorers were Captain Rajinder Singh (22'), Harwinder Singh (24'), Akashdeep Singh (39') and Shivam Rana (41'). Whereas, for SGPC Hockey Academy, Onkar Singh (33', 47') netted twice, Ravneet Singh (19') and Roban Singh (40') scored a goal each to help their team earn a 4-4 draw in the regulation time.
However, it was Namdhari XI who got the better of SGPC Hockey Academy in what was a topsy-turvy shootout.
In the fourth quarterfinal, Madhya Pradesh Hockey Academy defeated Naval Tata Hockey Academy - Jamshedpur by a dominating 5-1 margin.
Himanshu Sanik (43', 44', 46') scored a fine hat-trick, while Shreyas Dhupe (33') and Rajat (40') scored a goal each to help their team Madhya Pradesh Hockey Academy seal a spot in the Semi Final of the competition. Pardeep (35') scored the only goal for Naval Tata Hockey Academy- Jamshedpur.
The semifinals will be played on Tuesday.
