Hosts Jharkhand cemented their spot in the quarter-finals of the ongoing 11th national hockey women's (junior) championship in Simdega by thrashing Kerala 10-0 on Sunday.
As the game began, Jharkhand’s Deepika Soren led the charge by scoring in the 3rd minute. Seven minutes later, Rajni Kerketta hit scored another. Goals rained at regular intervals as Jharkhand players breached Kerala's porous defence at ease. Rajni and Mahima Tete scored three goals each while Deepika netted two goals. Alin Dungung and Amrita Minj too joined the party by scoring one goal each.
“The team played like champions,” remarked Manoj Konbegi, president of Hockey Simdega, elated after the quarter final berth. He added that the entire team was on a positive frame of mind after winning both the matches played so far.
A total of five matches were played on Sunday which marked the fifth day of the tournament. At the time of filing this report, Haryana beat Assam by 23 goals, Punjab thrashed Delhi 6-1, and Karnataka won over Pudduchery 12-1. Haryana and Maharashtra too ensured quarter final berths.
Simdega district administration started allowing spectators at the Astroturf stadium from Saturday but number of people were restricted, said deputy commissioner Sushant Gaurav. He said about 350 fully vaccinated people were given entry tickets per day.
“In order to prevent any chances of Covid-19 infections, only a handful of fans per day are being allowed for the matches. Entry tickets are on a first-come-first-serve basis only to those who are fully vaccinated,” he told reporters.
The Simdega administration has also roped in five LED vans which is touring various parts of the district to beam the matches live. The action is being relayed through the state hockey federation’s social media page and Jhargov.tv, a state government run web-television.
