Raipur, Oct 23 (IANS) In a battle of Indian Olympians in the opening match of the Chhattisgarh Hockey League, Surender Singh’s Nyayadhani Knights beat Lalit Upadhyay’s Rajdhani Royals 2-1 in Raipur on Thursday.
Playing at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Hockey Stadium, Raipur, the Knights were clinical in their efforts to register their first win, with goals coming from Ketan Kushwaha and Chirag, while Raushan was the lone scorer for Rajdhani.
It all started with Chirag sounding the board for the Knights in the 12th minute of the match, courtesy of a penalty corner conversion. The first rusher and the goalkeeper, Himanshu Malik, just could not stop the blazing flick. At the start of the 2nd quarter, Ketan Kushwaha managed to extend the lead for his team and found the net after getting past a couple of defenders.
Just a minute later, the Knights had the chance to extend the lead, but they squandered a PC chance that came their way. This was also the time Lalit looked to up the ante in the midfield for Rajdhani. But the team could not convert a rare PC that came their way.
Surender stood as a rock, in charge of the defence line, not really letting the opposition players move freely in the circle. The clearance from the Knights’ defenders remained exceptional, which also showed on the scoreline. The eventful quarter ended with Surender taking a blow to the face while trying to block a pass for Royals’ Aniket Kujur.
Come the second half, Nyayadhani started off with getting a PC after a stick check by Sanjit Tirkey. It’s a different matter that they could not convert; the next attempt was a failed one too. Ketan kept coming up with shots in the circle, but accuracy was what was lacking.
On the other hand, there were a few circle penetrations from Royals in the third quarter, but the forwards looked clueless and could not convert.
The fourth quarter looked slow, where the Royals were left to chase the match. Attack is what did not work well for them on the day, and missed chances only piled up. It also saw the second injury of the match, where Royals’ first rusher Premchand Soy crashed into Chirag. The collision saw both men down on the turf, stopping the match for some time.
Eventually, the match ended with no more surprises. Ketan was adjudged the Striker & Player of the match for his efforts throughout the match.
Aanchal Sahu helps Indravati Tigress beat Mahanadi Falcons 4-1 in women’s exhibition match.
Earlier in the day, in the women’s exhibition match, Indravati Tigress got the better of Mahanadi Falcons in a convincing fashion – 4-1. And it was skipper Aanchal Sahu who delivered the goods with two goals for Indravati, while Leena Korse and Mamteshwari Lahare scored one each.
On the other hand, the solitary goal for Mahanadi came from the stick of Riya Xalxo.
It was a lopsided match, where Indravati enjoyed close to 60% possession, while the opposition lacked coordination and firepower in the forward line.
–IANS
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