J&K UT Men’s Hockey C’ship
Excelsior Sports Correspondent
JAMMU, Mar 27: The semifinal line-up of the Hockey J&K UT Men’s Hockey Championship has been finalized, with Jammu North set to clash with Poonch, while J&K Police will take on Kathua in the last-four stage of the tournament being held at KK Hakku Hockey Stadium, Jammu.
The championship, which resumed after a gap of three years on March 24, features participation from 17 teams across the Union Territory. Day 4 witnessed four crucial matches that determined the semifinalists.
Jammu North stormed into the semifinals with a convincing 6-0 win over Anantnag. Jotveer Singh opened the scoring through a penalty corner in the 4th minute, while captain Kirandeep Singh doubled the lead in the 16th minute. Rahul Anwar and Deepak scored two goals each to complete the rout.
J&K Police also secured a commanding berth in the semifinals after thrashing Baramulla 7-0. Karanjit struck early, followed by goals from Navjot, Gagandeep, Arunpreet and Prabhjot, who converted two penalty corners. Samandeep added the final goal to seal the emphatic victory.
In a closely fought encounter, Kathua edged past Jammu West 4-3. Gurkirat Singh netted twice for Kathua, while Suraj Jasrotia and Gaurav Jasrotia added one goal each. Jammu West responded through Jaswinder Singh and Prabhjot, who scored twice, but fell short by a narrow margin.
The final quarterfinal saw Poonch defeat Jammu South via a tie-breaker after the match ended 3-3 in regulation time. Surinder Singh gave Jammu South an early lead, but Poonch fought back through Vishu Sharma and teammates. With no winner in regular time, Poonch held their nerve to win 3-2 in the shootout.
The semifinals will be played on Saturday, with Jammu North taking on Poonch at 2:30 pm, followed by the clash between J&K Police and Kathua at 4:00 pm.
Follow our WhatsApp channel
