FAO to host sub-Jr Girls Football tourney
Bhubaneswar: All India Football Federation has been allotted the Sub Junior Girls National Football Championship to Football Association of Odisha (FAO) will be held at Cuttack from May 8 to 24. Total 22 States are going to participate in the championship. The matches will be played at Barabati Stadium and Satybarta Stadium. Preliminary qualifying round matches will be played from May 8 to 13 and the quarterfinal matches will be played from May 15 to 20.Semifinals will be played on May 22 and the final on May 24 at Barabati Stadium. 16 referees and three match commissioners has been appointed by All India Football Federation to supervise the matches.
Odisha win CRPF Inter Sector Hockey Tourney
Bhubaneswar: Dipak Kujur of Odisha sector netted double goals and the team emerged champion of the CRPF Central Zone Inter Sector Hockey Tournament by defeating West Bengal by 3-0 goals at BB Mishra Stadium here on Wednesday. In the one sided final match another goal scored by Kuldip Beck. Special DG CRPF K Durga Prasad distributed the prizes as the chief guest of the closing ceremony. Among others, Odisha sector IGP Piyush Anand, Sports and Youth Services director Anant Kumar Jena, Hockey Odisha secretary Pratap Satapathy, DIGP TN Khuntia, JPK Ray, PK Nayak and Dr PC Tripathy were present.
India looks to win test series against Japan
Bhubaneswar: After an inspiring win over Japan on Tuesday, India Men Team is riding on confidence to win their third match of the four-match Test Series at Kalinga Stadium here on Thursday. After playing two matches against Japan, Indian players have their strategies in place to counter Japan’s style of play and attack. On the other side, Japan faced an attacking Indian side yesterday and they understood the fact that they have to plan some out-of-the-box strategies to give a tough competition to the hosts. Under the Chief Coach Paul vas Ass, Indian players are working on a variety of strategies and team combinations.
The series has brought to the forefront good performances from the young players such as SK Uthappa, Dharamvir Singh and Yuvraj Walmiki and are looking forward to more such performances in the next two matches against Japan. local hero Birendra lakra is playing as per the crowd’s expectations and leading the defence-line of the team. Not conceding a single goal in the second match is a big boost to the team’s morale. Playing with speedy attacks, Japan now has to work on different strategies to convert more opportunities in goals. Penalty corner is a big worry for the Japanese players as they haven’t converted a single penalty in the series. They also have failed to breach India’s defence line and goal-keeper PR Sreejesh. They are working harder on their finishing and tomorrow’s match will be a crucial match for them.
Speaking after the Practice Session, India Chief Coach Paul van Ass stated: “We played better in the 2nd match than the 1st match but failed to materialise many opportunities. Right now, we are in process of rectifying our mistakes and we are focusing more on our mistakes. In tomorrow’s match, we need to create more opportunities and convert the penalty corners into goals, which will help us put ourselves in a better place. ” Speaking at the Practice Session at Kalinga Stadium, Japan Coach Keonwook Kang said: “India is better than us in the 2nd match and this is the only reason we lost the match. We did lots of mistakes and lost many opportunities against India. We need to change our game-plan for tomorrow’s match and focus more on our strategies to improve our game.”
Gangpur eves emerge Div-B Hockey champion
Bhubaneswar: The final day of 5th Hockey India Junior Women National Championship (Division B) concluded on Tuesday announcing Hockey Gangpur-Odisha as the winners of the tournament who clinched the title defeating Hockey Patiala with 2-1. In the crucial finale session between Hockey Patiala and Hockey Gangpur Odisha, Hockey Gangpur –Odisha emerged as the winners of the tournament defeating the opponents 2-1 after a tough battle. The excitement rolled in the tournament in the 7th minute of the game itself when Hockey Gangpur-Odisha bagged their first goal which was a penalty corner converted by Rinki Kujur giving a cheerful moment to the team.
The game continued with rigorous attempts coming from both the sides which resulted into a second score of Hockey Gangpur-Odisha again when Janhabi Pradhan in the 23rd minute struck a wonderful field goal leading the team towards victory. It was in the 33rd minute that Hockey Patiala bounced back in the game with a penalty corner converted by lovedeep Kaur from the team giving them a moment of relief. The first half of the game ended in favour of Hockey Gangpur-Odisha which was leading with 2-1. The second half witnessed an intense clash between the teams racing against each other for the title. However, there were no further strikes in the second half and the match concluded announcing Hockey Gangpur-Odisha as the winners of the B-Division and defeated Hockey Patiala 2-1. Results Finals: Hockey Gangpur –Odisha 2 Rinki Kujur (7min-PC),Janhabi Pradhan (23 min-FG) vs Hockey Patiala 1 lovedeep Kaur (33min-PC).