Guwahati: Bringing laurels to the State, Odisha U21 Boys Hockey Team clinched bronze medal at the ongoing Khelo India Youth Games 2020 here.
Odisha defeated Chandigarh 3-1 in a penalty shootout after a high-scoring normal time which saw the two teams tied at 5-5.
In the match, Odisha and Chandigarh produced an entertaining match for the spectators, with the two teams scoring 5 goals each in regulation time. It was Odisha who were trailing by 1-3 after the first 25 minutes, but made a great comeback to level the scores at 4-4 after 44 minutes, and then score a fifth in the 59th minute to turn the match around.
However, it was Chandigarh’s turn to equalize as they scored in the last minute to make it 5-5 and take the tie into a penalty shootout. It was Samir Ekka (15′, 28′), Abhisek Lakra (38′), Rahul Ekka (44′) and Amandeep Lakra (59′) who scored the goals for Odisha, with Maninder Singh (25′, 36′), Diljeet Singh (9′), Harpreet Singh (13′) and Sanjay (60′) scoring for Chandigarh. In the shootout, Odisha’s goalkeeper Sahil Kumar Nayak saved the first three attempts and Sushil Dhanwar, Sunit Lakra and Krishna Tirkey scored, to win the bronze for their team.
Earlier, the Odisha girls clinched the bronze medal in U-17 category defeating Assam 2-1.