Madhya Pradesh prevail over hardworking Jharkhand in final

Madhya Pradesh regained the sub-junior girls national hockey title with a 5-2 win over Jharkhand in the final at Balewadi Sports Complex here on Wednesday.

Although the end result may show that it was a one-sided affair, in realty, it was not so as the tribal girls from Jharkhand gave MP a run for their money.

"They played much better than us but their strike force lacked the finishing touch. I am happy my girls withstood the onslaught and prevailed," said MP coach Vandana Uikey.

"It was a good team effort and we played well, but Jharkhand are not a weak side as the scoreboard reads. They are very good side. Just that we capitalised on the chances that came our way," said Divya Thepe, MP captain.

However, Jharkhand coach Pulkeria Nag blamed it on the officials for their defeat. "It was pathetic. Disallowing a goal when we on the verge of leveling the score at 2-2 after being 0-2 down cost us dear," said Nag.
The teams dished out good hockey with action confined to midfield for most of the time. The long passes by Jharkhand girls and their 4-2-4 game plan as against 4-4-2 adopted Madhya Pradesh witnessed fast hockey.

Earlier, Chandigarh scored a 3-1 win over defending champions Haryana to grab the bronze medal.