Chennai: Host Hockey Unit of Tamilnadu will take on the Central Secretariat in the final of the Hockey India Senior National men’s hockey championship (‘B’ Division) after it edged out Sports Authority of India (SAI), 6-5 via tie-breaker in the semi-final here on Saturday.
In an exciting semifinal encounter in which the lead kept changing hands, Tamilnadu and SAI were locked 3-all at the end of regulation time.
In the penalty shootout, Tamilnadu converted three of the five attempts, while SAI managed to score only two, enabling the home team seal a place in the final. By reaching the final, Tamilnadu also qualified for the ‘A’ Division after a gap of four years.
The first goal was scored by SAI in the in the ninth minute through Bobby Singh Dhami, before Tamilnadu levelled seven minutes later as Shanmugham found the mark.
The host took a 2-1 lead in the 20th minute when Vinodhan converted a penalty corner. In the 25th minute Mohit Kumar’s goal in the 25th minute levelled the scores.
Tamilnadu regained the lead in the 40th minute when Vinod Rayer got one past the rival custodian. In the very next minute, SAI equalised with a penalty corner conversion. With the scores equal at 3-3, the match headed to the penalty shoot-out.
In the penalty shootout, Senthil Nayagam, R Manikandan and S Manikandan converted for Tamilnadu while Joshua and skipper Senthil missed out. SAI players missed the first, second and the fifth shot and managed to convert the third and fourth through Vishal and Lokesh Bora respectively thus losing out 6-5.