Rourkela, Odisha: Hockey Madhya Pradesh beat Hockey Jharkhand 1-0 to win the 13th Hockey India Junior Women National Championship 2023 title on Friday at the Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium here.
In an evenly matched encounter, Gurmail Kaur of Madhya Pradesh scored the lone and match winning goal in the 22nd minute of the game.
This was for the second year in row, Jharkhand had to be satisfied with the runners up spot in the women’s junior national championship.
In a hard-lime match Haryana crushed Chhattisgarh 12-2 to clinch the third spot.
Speaking on their successful campaign, Neha Rawat, Coach of Hockey Madhya Pradesh, said, “When we first came, our primary objective was to stay among the top teams and as the games progressed, we improved and it was a great learning curve for the young players and I am sure that this experience will help improve their game going forward. The atmosphere in the team and the players are now preparing for the upcoming National Games.
Sharing her thoughts on being unbeaten in the tournament, Neha said, “Yes, there have been ups and downs but the players never gave up. They always gave their 100%. To be honest, I was not expecting this but it is a testament to the players’ dedication and hard work. The unity among the players was our biggest strength that led us to win the 13th Hockey India Junior Women National Championship 2023.”
