Madhya Pradesh to face Punjab in Hockey India Senior Men National Championship 2025 finals

IANS April 13, 2025 195 views

The 15th Hockey India Senior Men National Championship has reached its climactic finale with Madhya Pradesh and Punjab securing their spots through intense semi-final victories. Madhya Pradesh convincingly defeated Manipur 5-3, with captain Yousuf Affan scoring a critical brace of goals that propelled his team forward. Punjab emerged triumphant in an equally exciting match, overcoming Uttar Pradesh in a close 4-3 encounter that showcased exceptional hockey skills. The championship final promises to be a thrilling contest between two highly competitive teams with remarkable performance records.

"Our team's performance in the semi-finals was exceptional" - Yousuf Affan, Madhya Pradesh Captain
Jhansi, April 13: Hockey Madhya Pradesh and Hockey Punjab won their Semi-Final matches in the 15th Hockey India Senior Men National Championship 2025 in Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh and are one step away from lifting the coveted title.

Key Points

1

Madhya Pradesh defeats Manipur 5-3 in thrilling semi-final

2

Punjab wins nail-biting 4-3 match against Uttar Pradesh

3

Captain Yousuf Affan scores crucial brace for Madhya Pradesh

4

Championship finale promises high-intensity hockey drama

In the first Semi-Final match, Hockey Madhya Pradesh defeated Manipur Hockey 5-3 to seal their spot in the grand finale. Captain Yousuf Affan (5’, 34’) and Ali Ahmad (7’, 15’) scored braces for Hockey Madhya Pradesh, while Mohammad Zaid Khan (49’) also contributed with a goal. Moirangthem Rabichandra Singh (47’), Captain Chinglensana Singh Kangujam (50’) and Laishram Dipu Singh (53’) scored for Manipur Hockey.

In the other Semi-Final match, Hockey Punjab emerged victorious over Uttar Pradesh Hockey with a scoreline of 4-3 in a closely contested game. Jasjit Singh Kular (14’, 40’) registered a brace for Hockey Punjab along with goals from Harjeet Singh (22’) and Jugraj Singh (45’). For Uttar Pradesh Hockey, Sharda Nand Tiwari (41’, 43’) added two goals to his tally and Pawan Rajbhar also recorded a goal to his name, but unfortunately for them, they couldn’t find an equaliser in time.

Earlier in the quarter-finals Hockey Madhya Pradesh emerged victorious over Hockey Maharashtra 4-2 in shootout. Pratap Lakra (6’) converted a penalty corner and opened the scoring for Hockey Madhya Pradesh early in the game. Three minutes later, Hockey Maharashtra promptly replied courtesy of a field goal from Aakib Rahim (9’).

Defences were on top in the second Quarter-Final match as Manipur Hockey and Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu played out a goalless draw and battled it out in the shootout, which the former won 4-1.

In the third match, Hockey Punjab defeated Hockey Haryana 3-2 to seal their spot in the Semi-Finals. Araijeet Singh Hundal (15’) scored the only goal of the first-half to give Hockey Punjab the lead. Sanjay (32’) scored the equaliser for Hockey Haryana, but Hockey Punjab scored two goals in quick succession thanks to Jugraj Singh (33’) and Pardeep Singh (34’) to reclaim the lead. Kuldeep (56’) got one goal back in the dying minutes of the game however, Hockey Punjab prevailed over the four quarters.

In the last Quarter-Final match, Uttar Pradesh Hockey enjoyed a 3-1 win over Hockey Karnataka. Although Rahul C.J (24') scored the first goal to take the lead in the second quarter for Hockey Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh Hockey made a strong comeback. Manish Yadav (45') successfully converted a penalty corner to level the score in the third quarter. They then scored two goals in the fourth quarter courtesy of Pawan Rajbhar (52') and Sharda Nand Tiwari (59') to seal their spot in the Semi-Final.

Reader Comments

R
Rahul K.
What an intense semi-final! Punjab vs MP is going to be 🔥. Both teams have shown great attacking play throughout the tournament. Can't wait for the final!
P
Priya M.
So proud of Manipur Hockey for putting up a great fight against MP! They came back strong in the second half. The future looks bright for hockey in the northeast region.
A
Amit S.
While the matches were exciting, I wish the organizers would improve the streaming quality. It's 2025 and we still get pixelated feeds for national championships. The sport deserves better coverage.
S
Simran J.
Yousuf Affan is such a clutch player for MP! His two goals in the semi-final were absolute class. Hope he brings his A-game to the final 💪
V
Vikram P.
The Punjab vs UP match was edge-of-the-seat stuff! That last 10 minutes when UP was pushing for equalizer - my heart was racing. Great tournament overall.
N
Neha T.
So happy to see hockey getting this kind of competitive spirit across states! The quality of play has improved so much in recent years. Let's go MP! 🏑

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Tags:
Hockey India Senior Championship Madhya Pradesh Hockey Punjab Hockey Indian National Hockey Yousuf Affan Hockey Tournament 2025
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