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Nehru Hockey: Double joy for Rourkela
Coach Bijay Kumar Lakra made it two out of two as Birsa Munda Vidyapitha, Rourkela, beat Lyallpur Khalsa Senior Secondary School, Jalandhar, 2-1 in the final of the under-17 Nehru Junior Hockey Tournament on Wednesday.
Coach Bijay Kumar Lakra made it two out of two as Birsa Munda Vidyapitha, Rourkela, beat Lyallpur Khalsa Senior Secondary School, Jalandhar, 2-1 in the final of the under-17 Nehru Junior Hockey Tournament on Wednesday.
Lakra's under-15 side had also secured the No. 1 spot in the sub-junior final two weeks ago.
"Our tactic was to interchange the ball and strike when we got the chance, while man-to-man marking in defence," said an ecstatic Lakra after his team collected the trophy and Rs 96,000 prize money.
Indeed, his instructions seemed to work as Birsa Munda kept possession for large portions of the game. It paid off as they led 2-0 until the final minute of the game.
Lyallpur were no pushovers, though.
Restricted to 13 players throughout the tournament after a medical check determined three were over-age, the Jalandhar team put in a roaring effort, albeit in pockets.
For about 10 minutes in each half, some fantastic saves by the Birsa Munda goalkeeper, Pradeep Kujur, who put in a man-of-the-match performance, was the only thing that kept Lyallpur off the scoresheet as they besieged Birsa’s goal-area.
