Mumbai
Haryana and Odisha chalked up convincing wins to enter the men’s Under-21 hockey semi-finals of the Khelo India Youth Games 2019 from Pool B at the Mahindra Hockey Stadium here on Friday.
They join Punjab and Uttar Pradesh who had qualified for the last-four stage on Thursday.
In Sunday’s semi-finals, Punjab take on Haryana before Uttar Pradesh and Odisha clash in the day’s second game. Interestingly, the same four teams are also in the semis of the U-17 men’s competition as well.
Haryana devastated hosts Maharashtra with an emphatic 6-1 win to finish the pool stage with six points from three matches. Goals for the winning side came from skipper Mandeep Mor (3rd, 10th minute), Kuldeep (6th, 55th), Mohit (59th) and Deepak (60th) while Maharashtra’s consolation strike was scored by Rohan Patil in the 36th minute.
In the other Pool B match, Odisha maintained their clean record with a 2-1 win over Jharkhand that helped them top the pool with nine points.
A brace from Shilanand Lakra in the 9th and 35th minutes saw Odisha grab the initiative and even though Jharkhand sought to make it a contest with Ashim Tirkey’s 39th minute goal, Odisha were in no mood to relinquish their command over proceedings.
On Saturday, Punjab play Odisha in the first of the Under-17 men’s semi-finals, followed by the Uttar Pradesh versus Haryana clash.