Rohtak, 27 April 2017: The quarter finals kicked off at Hockey India 7th Senior National Championships 2017 (Women) ‘A’ Division today. With teams eyeing a spot in the final four, competition and quality on the turf was high, matches seeing ample goals through the day.

Observing noteworthy performances during the matches, David John, Director High Performance, Hockey India present at Rohtak said, “There is a big number of senior and junior players present here who are part of the national teams. This has really improved the standard of the game here and I am very impressed with the quality of matches played today. Hockey Madhya Pradesh and Railways Sports Promotion Board have in particular given stellar performances. Finding the right talent is the key to the overall development of national hockey and the National Championship is a great platform for this.”

Defending champions, Railway Sports Promotion Board opened the day’s play with a 4-1 victory over Hockey Punjab. Railway Sports Promotion Board opened the scoring in the first minute of the game, Anuradha Devi Thokchom, sounding the board to give them the lead. When Navneet Kaur scored their second in the 6th minute, there was a sense that perhaps the game had run away from Hockey Punjab. Regardless, they hit back in the second quarter, Lalremruati Khiangte smartly converting a PC in the 17th minute, to bring down the deficit. It wasn’t to last long though. Five minutes later, Anuradha Devi Thokchom’s PC conversion for her second restored Railway Sport Promotion Board’s cushion as they went into the break. In a feisty and hard fought second half, Deepika’s 31st minute goal was to prove to be the final nail, as Railway Sports Promotion Board ran out 4-1 winners.

Railway Sports Promotion Board midfielder, Deepika, was confident about her team making the final for the second year running, saying “As defending champions, we are obviously the favourites, and that makes us the target for teams. That said, Hockey Madhya Pradesh are  strong unit, and we cannot be complacent or rely on our past to carry us through.”

One of the facets of Railway Sports Promotion Board’s play has been the harmony in the team. They are the second highest scorers of the tournament (29 goals), with an array of 10 different players contributing to that tally in the tournament.

In the second quarter final, Hockey Madhya Pradesh beat Hockey Odisha 2-0 to advance to the semi finals. Two strikes, either side of the first quarter were enough for them to grind out an impressive victory. Ritu Singh, was the first to strike, scoring off a PC in the 14th minute to give them the lead. Almost from the restart of the second quarter, R Ramngaihzuali doubled that lead with a well taken field goal, a lead they took into half time. In the second half, Hockey Madhya Pradesh were happy to sit back and work on the counter, with the onus on Hockey Odisha to find the goals. It was a strategy that worked perfectly for them, as they ekked out a well-deserved win.

Association of Indian Universities edged out Hockey Jharkhand 2-1 in quarter final 3. The two teams started off at a blistering pace, looking to attack and break the deadlock as soon as possible. Hockey Jharkhand were the highest scorers of the tournament and Sangita Kumari the individual with the most goals (14), so the onus was on them to make the difference. In a minor shock though, Association of Indian Universities, rocked them early, with two quick goals, by Devika Sen (8’) and Jyoti Gupta (9’). The twin strikes meant they could sit back and defend deep, while Hockey Jharkhand struggled to make inroads for a goal. Association of Indian Universities took the 2-0 lead into half time. In the fourth quarter, Hockey Jharkhand pulled a goal back via Deepti Bilung in the 48th minute to open the game. Association of Indian Universities held on though, for a superb victory under pressure and enter the semi finals.

Wazir Chand, coach of Association of Indian Universities said, “We knew that Hockey Jharkhand were very prolific in front of goal, and very dangerous on the attack, but we also knew that they had never gone behind in the tournament. Our tactic was to search for that first goal, and try and peg them back and look for their reaction. Fortunately we got two in quick succession, and then showed great composure to close the game. Full credit to the players.”