Jamshedpur Naval Tata Hockey Academy crowned champions of Junior Men Academy Nationals

Naval Tata Hockey Academy – Jamshedpur beat SAIL Hockey Academy 2-2 (4-1 SO) via shootout to win the Championship

Roundglass Punjab Hockey Club Academy beat Army Boys Sports Company 2-2 (2-0 SO) in 3^rd/4^th Place Match  

Jamshedpur, May 1: Hosts Naval Tata Hockey Academy – Jamshedpur eked out a narrow 4-1 win over SAIL Hockey Academy in the shootout to lift the 2nd Hockey India Junior Men Academy National Championship 2022 title here on Sunday. The thrilling Final went into shootout after both the teams were locked 2-2 in regulation time.   

SAIL Hockey Academy took the lead in the 13^th minute through a field strike from Nitesh, which was cancelled out by Naval Tata Hockey Academy – Jamshedpur’s Md Danish in the 27^th minute. But Captain Kerobin Lakra’s penalty corner conversion in the 44^th minute nearly looked to have sealed the championship crown for his side until 58^th minute when Deepak Soreng scored the equaliser to take the match into shootout.  

In the shootout, Naval Tata Hockey Academy – Jamshedpur converted all four chances through Pardeep, Shivam Singh, Simon Bodra and Sukhnath Guria while their goalkeeper Bhimsen Kisku stood tall to help his team clinch the title. For SAIL Hockey Academy, only Tarin Yadav scored in the shootout to finish runner-up.  

 Reflecting on the thrilling win, Naval Tata Hockey Academy-Jamshedpur Coach Manish Kumar said, “I am really glad to see that the players didn’t lose hope and didn’t give up at all till the last minute. They were patient and did really well in the last minutes to take the game into the shootout. That equaliser in the 58^th minute weakened our opponent’s morale and we just took advantage of it in the shootout.” 

“For Naval Tata Hockey Academy- Jamshedpur, it’s a very special day today, we have won our first Academy Nationals title. I think this win will motivate the whole academy, including players of other age group to win more and more such prestigious tournaments. This win, this tournament will certainly help these young players in achieving their dream of playing for India,” he added.  

Earlier in the day, RoundGlass Punjab Hockey Club Academy defeated Army Boys Sports Company 2-0 in the shootout after both the teams finished 2-2 at the end of regulation 60 minutes. Dilraj Singh (8’) and Shivam Rana (59’) scored for Roundglass Punjab Hockey Club Academy, while Nitish Kumar (27’, 52’) bagged a brace for Army Boys Sports Company in the regulation time. 

 In the shootout, Army Boys Sports Company missed out converting in all their five attempts, Arshdeep Singh and Rajbeer Singh scored for Roundglass Punjab Hockey Club Academy to help their side finish at the third spot.  

During the closing ceremony, Padma Shri Dr. Dhanraj Pillay graced the occasion at the Chief Guest. He was pleased to see how Tata Steel has been promoting hockey with state-of-the-art facilities supported with experts, coaches and trainers. He also said that he was looking forward to seeing some of the finest players from the championship represent India at various international tournaments.

Other guests present on the occasion were Farzan Herjee, Chief Protocol & Sports, Tata Steel, Mukul Vinayak Choudhari, CEO, Jamshedpur Football Club & Chief Sports Excellence Centres, Tata Steel, Ravi Radhakrishana, Chief Aviation, Tata Steel, Ashish Kumar, CEO, Hockey Ace Foundation & Head Sports, Tata Steel, and the senior officials of Tata Steel Sports Department and Naval Tata Hockey Academy

Shivam Rane from Roundglass Punjab Hockey Club Academy was declared player of the tournament. With 16 goals, Kerobin Lakra (SAIL Hockey Academy) was the highest scorer of the tournament. Bhimsen Kisku of Naval Tata Hockey Academy received the award for the Best Goalkeeper while Amit Kiro of SAIL Hockey Academy was declared the emerging player of the tournament.

The Final Position of the winners of the 2nd Hockey India Junior Men Academy National Championship 2022, Naval Tata Hockey Academy, Jamshedpur are: 

First Place –  Naval Tata Hockey Academy- Jamshedpur 

Second Place – SAIL Hockey Academy 

Third Place – Roundglass Punjab Hockey Club Academy